Bush joins outcry in hospital scandal

[helderheid]

Oh BROTHER. :eyes:

As the row over filthy conditions at a top US military ward cost two army chiefs their jobs, the President vows to help veterans

Paul Harris in New York
Sunday March 4, 2007
The Observer

President Bush was forced to pledge tough action yesterday to deal with a growing scandal over the poor treatment of wounded Iraq war veterans, which has led to a series of military resignations.

The furore has centred on conditions at the Walter Reed hospital in Washington, DC, which is considered the best military facility of its kind in America. However, revelations in the Washington Post last week revealed dilapidated conditions at several buildings used to house military outpatients.

The newspaper described infestations of rats in some rooms, mouldy walls and damp-stained fixtures. That was enough for the head of Walter Reed, Major-General George Weightman, to be fired. His sacking was then swiftly followed by the resignation of the Army Secretary, Francis Harvey. Harvey was the army's top civilian official.

But the political crisis has not stopped there. In a highly unusual move aimed at stemming the damage, the White House has now become involved. In his weekly radio address yesterday, Bush slammed conditions at the hospital. 'This is unacceptable to me, it is unacceptable to our country and it is not going to continue,' he said.

The unprecedented intervention by Bush in such a high-profile case shows how seriously the White House views the fallout from any perception of not treating veterans well, especially those injured in war. In contrast to some reactions during the Vietnam war, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are almost universally regarded as returning heroes, even by staunch critics of the conflicts. Veterans' groups are highly organised and politically powerful and, with the 2008 election looming, the White House does not want to be seen to be unpatriotic.

MORE >>>

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2026080,00.html

I find this telling:

the White House does not want to be seen to be unpatriotic.

[w8liftinglady]

1. what an insincere,amoral piece of shit.Sorry-no way to sanitize it

[Blue Fire]

3. Not enuff Lysol in the world, anyway.

[blonndee]

2. What bullshit. I'm reminded of his little speech in NOLA post-Katrina.

We all know how well he's followed through on his promises he made then.

"Outcry," my ass. It's all about, as you suggest, politics and PR. Once this blows over, it'll be back to SOP.

WORST PRESIDENT EVER. WORST GOVERNMENT EVER.

[Erika]

11. and the world and the majority of our citizens agree

Worst W (I can't call the man president) and worst administration ever.

[11 Bravo]

4. Joining is one of his best things - leading ... aah, not so much.

That of course pre-supposes that whatever it is he might join doesn't place his own pasty ass in any semblance of danger.

[frogcycle]

14. hiya Steph!

[AX10]

Joining in the outrage that you caused?

:eyes: :crazy:

[helderheid]

7. He finally sees the light and despises what he's done as much as we do?

:crazy:

[MasonJar]

5. By all means get out there W and stem the reality that you are a

hardened loser by spinning the perception that you have a heart/brain/soul.

[w8liftinglady]

6. what exactly does a commander-in-chief do?

doesn't this fall under HIS juridiction?

[Erika]

8. No word about Rummy's failure and who appointed Rummy?

This W administration does not do accountability. Privatize and forget it is their motto.

[TwilightGardener]

9. This story came out when--10-12 days ago?

I guess he was waiting to see how far up the chain of command the blame would go first, before he decided he'd better be against the maltreatment of wounded vets, too! Asshole!

[helderheid]

10. Welcome to DU, WD!

:hi:

[w8liftinglady]

13. ditto that...join us in our collective outrage

:toast: :toast:

[Erika]

12. Yes, welcome n/t

[TwilightGardener]

15. Thanks to all for a warm welcome!

[w8liftinglady]

16. my prayer-that there will be a direct connection between the White House and this TREASONOUS act

they are responsible for suffering and possibly murder

[helderheid]

18. How many are we at now?!

[w8liftinglady]

20. no shit. NT

[sakabatou]

17. From all previous ecidence

I doubt he'll really do anything. And if he does, there will be a signing statement.

[in_cog_ni_to]

19. Oh PUHLEEEEZE! That story came out on FEBRUARY 18!!! This is March 3! It took him 13 days

to think of what to say? What a crock of shit. Man, just when I thought I couldn't hate that rat bastard any more than I do....he opens his damn mouth again.....13 DAYS AFTER THE FACT! :nuke:


Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility

By Dana Priest and Anne Hull
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, February 18, 2007; Page A01

Behind the door of Army Spec. Jeremy Duncan's room, part of the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down with black mold. When the wounded combat engineer stands in his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole. The entire building, constructed between the world wars, often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.

This is the world of Building 18, not the kind of place where Duncan expected to recover when he was evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center from Iraq last February with a broken neck and a shredded left ear, nearly dead from blood loss. But the old lodge, just outside the gates of the hospital and five miles up the road from the White House, has housed hundreds of maimed soldiers recuperating from injuries suffered in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.



The Wounded and Walter Reed
Five and a half years of sustained combat have transformed the venerable 113-acre Walter Reed Army Medical Center into a holding ground for physically and psychologically damaged outpatients.


More on Walter Reed
The Hotel Aftermath
The guests of Mologne House have been blown up, shot, crushed and shaken, and now their convalescence takes place among the chandeliers and wingback chairs of the 200-room hotel on the grounds of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The common perception of Walter Reed is of a surgical hospital that shines as the crown jewel of military medicine. But 5 1/2 years of sustained combat have transformed the venerable 113-acre institution into something else entirely -- a holding ground for physically and psychologically damaged outpatients. Almost 700 of them -- the majority soldiers, with some Marines -- have been released from hospital beds but still need treatment or are awaiting bureaucratic decisions before being discharged or returned to active duty.

They suffer from brain injuries, severed arms and legs, organ and back damage, and various degrees of post-traumatic stress. Their legions have grown so exponentially -- they outnumber hospital patients at Walter Reed 17 to 1 -- that they take up every available bed on post and spill into dozens of nearby hotels and apartments leased by the Army. The average stay is 10 months, but some have been stuck there for as long as two years.<snip>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/17/AR2007021701172.html

[helderheid]

23. the ONLY reason he has ANYTHING to say is because the press finally got some teeth.

[Swede]

21. The buck stops uhm........uh............way over there. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. He's a day late and a dollar short

[helderheid]

24. for just about everything. Can we even remember what he's done at his pace?

[sueh]

25. Just like he was *outraged* at the CIA leak.

[helderheid]

26. We'll fire those involved! er, wait...

[ThatsMyBarack]

27. * will make it all better....

....by passing out American flags to all the wounded soldiers.

[helderheid]

31. Don't forget those support the troops magnets!

[LibDemAlways]

28. I've got ocean front property in Arizona for anyone who

thinks chimp gives a rat's ass how soldiers are treated. He and his PNAC criminal henchmen just want a steady stream of warm bodies they can use to fulfill their dreams of conquest. Those whose injuries land them in the hospital are of no further use to the cabal as evidenced by those horrendous conditions. It's the repuke slumlord mentality. They thought they could get away with it because they could silence the victims. It's practically a miracle that this story even saw the light of day. Of course the official posture right now is CYA and the civilians ultimately running the show have already chosen their scapegoats.

[HuffleClaw]

29. 'i'm shocked, SHOCKED to find...'

what a disgrace. ONLY this administration would brazenly attempt to pretend they didn't know.

[helderheid]

30. At least most of America is on to them, even with a complicit media.