Month: March 2012

An archive of previous updates can be found at

[ http://www.CampaignAgainstIEDs.org/campaign-blog.html ]

 

This week has seen us gather a great deal more support for the Letter from Members of Congress to President Obama on IEDs and other areas of the Global Campaign against IEDs. As of Monday, March 19, 2012 the list we have from Representative Gallegly’s Office includes 15 signatories for the letter.

Many more House and Senate continue to Staff it and express interest in joining this impressive, diverse bi-partisan group.

Signatories now include representatives from key house committees including: Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Homeland Security, Veteran´s Affairs, Ways and Means, Judiciary, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Small Business, Oversight and Government Reform, Education and Workforce, Transportation and Infrastructure, Budget, Agriculture and Natural Resources. The response underscores the true bi-partisan nature of this effort and what all Members should lend their voice to standing against IEDs.

 

The “Dear Colleagues” letter was circulated again on March 19th, and we will continue to collect signatures at least until March 30th.

 

The Ambassadors from Germany and Norway will now provide representatives to our initial session in Washington on April 3, 2012. Germany is reaching out to other embassies to endorse the event and promote attendance.

 

We have several opportunities to attend our sessions at GovSec 2012 April 3-4 in Washington, D.C.  The Global Campaign against IEDs will host two panels at the event:

The Global IED Epidemic: Much More than Just a Military Problem (April 3, 2012: Time: 3:15PM – 4:15PM). Panel Members include:

• Gerald Gahima – Former Chief Justice of the Rwanda Supreme Court and key figure in stopping the 1980 Rwanda Genocide.
• BG(P) Austin Miller – Deputy Director, Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO)
• COL (Ret) Bob Morris (Moderator) – Global Campaign against IEDs
• Jim Young – Google

The Power of Social Media in Combating Terrorism (April 4, 2012: Time: 1:00PM – 2:00PM).  Panel Members Include:

• Gerald Gahima – Former Chief Justice of the Rwanda Supreme Court and key figure in stopping the 1980 Rwanda Genocide.
• LTG (Ret) Francis H. Kearney, III – Former Deputy Director, Strategic Operations Planning at the National Counter-Terrorism Center
• COL (Ret) Bob Morris (Moderator) – Global Campaign against IEDs
• Chief of Police (Ret) David Peck – Former Chief of Police, Fairfield, Connecticut
• Steve Ressler – Founder, GovLoop
• Jim Young – Google

Although the Global Campaign against IEDs and Partners International foundation as neutral parties and non-profit entities are not affiliated with GovSec, its organizers, or vendors in any way, GovSec has agreed to support the Global campaign´s work through in-kind donations.

If you wish to attend, you have several options:

• FREE Events only (does not include the two IED Panels): Register through the GovSec website using the Promotion Code: EXPO02
• FREE events and our IED panels: Register through the GovSec website using the Promotion Code:  EXPO02  when you register AND notify us by email at partners@partners-international.org so we can add your name to the access roster.
• ALL GovSec Events: Register through the GovSec website using the Promotion Code:  CONF21 to receive a 10% discount.
• Invitation only event: contact me directly by email.

An archive of previous updates can be found at

[ http://www.CampaignAgainstIEDs.org/campaign-blog.html ]

 

We continue to make progress in several areas.

First, the response to our request for signatories on the letter to President Obama on IEDs continues to be very promising. In just the last week we have three new signatories:

This expands the committees represented to include: Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Veteran’s Affairs, Ways and Means, Judiciary, Small Business, Oversight and Government Reform, Education and Workforce, Transportation and Infrastructure, Budget, Agriculture and Natural Resources. The response underscores the true bi-partisan nature of this effort and what all Members should lend their voice to standing against IEDs.

We continue to receive quite a few inquiries from House and Senate offices with interest and are very encouraged in regard to obtaining more signatories in the near future. In response to the interest we’ve extended the date to receive signatures until March 30, 2012.

I hope you will continue to advocate with Congressional offices for additional signatures as may be appropriate.

In one extremely positive and significant development, on March 13, 2012 Congressman Gallegly’s Office began circulating formal “Dear Colleagues” correspondence requesting signatures on the letter and that he will continue to circulate it until March 30, 2012 to collect signatures.

In our international engagements the Ambassador from Norway is requesting to provide a representative to our initial session in Washington on April 3, 2012. Currently we are exploring interest for a session with Veteran’s Service Organizations (VSOs).

In order to promote complete transparency of our actions, these updates will list organizations, companies, offices, and persons with which we have substantive interactions. These interactions do not represent formal endorsement of the Global Campaign against IEDs by these entities. Formal endorsements will be posted separately on our website as they are received.

 

An archive of previous updates can be found at

[ http://www.CampaignAgainstIEDs.org/campaign-blog.html ]

 

First, the response to our request for signatories on the letter to President Obama on IEDs is very promising. In just the short time the letter has been available for signature in Congressman Gallegly’s office, we already have commitments from Members representing the House Foreign Affairs Committee; House Ways and Means; House Armed Services Committee; House Veteran’s Affairs, and others.

Since hard copies of the requests were hand carried to each Member of the Senate and the House of Representatives as well as electronic copies distributed to all House and Senate Chiefs of Staff, quite a few House and Senate offices have shown interest and contacted Representative Gallegly’s office. We are very encouraged regarding obtaining more signatories in the near future and hope other in the House and Senate will join as  signatories.

Next, Rolling Thunder has joined the growing list of Veteran’s Organizations to endorse the Global Campaign against IEDs and committed to being a signatory on a VSO President’s letter to President Obama and Congress as well.

In addition, Brigadier General (P) Austin Miller, Deputy Director of the Department of Defense’s Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) will join our panel at GovSec On April 3, 2012 entitled: The Global IED Epidemic: Much More than A military Problem. If you wish to attend I’ll be happy to provide the details.

In our outreach we contacted Ambassadors of over 20 Foreign Governments in the United States as well as key members of the Nigeria Government with requests to meet regarding the Global Campaign and move toward the world’s first Global IED summit.

With assistance from The Graffiti of War Project as one of our Global Campaign partners, a combat veteran in their program designed what now has become the official logo (shown below) of the Global Campaign against IEDs.  We’re honored to have the symbol of this global effort designed by a member of a project helping our wounded warriors.