Wounded Warriors at Walter Reed Army Hospital
President Bush and military recruiters promise the best of care. Every politician speaks of the debt of gratitude owned to troops returning from Iraq and extends the promise to “take care of them” and their families.
Most Americans go about their daily lives without being required to make any sacrifices to fight the never ending so called “War on Terror”. Unlike the harsh welcome experienced by veterans returning from Vietnam most Americans do express gratitude and appreciation for the sacrifices made by those in uniform and for especially for returning wounded warrior Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
But what is the reality behind these promises and vows of gratitude? What is the truth behind how a grateful nation takes care of it’s wounded warriors? This account of conditions at Walter Reed Army Hospital, only a few blocks from the White House in Washington, D.C. will give you a good idea.
After reading the article ask yourself if you would want your own son, daughter, father, or mother, exposed to the potential of such treatment. The reality of how a grateful nation deals with those wounded on the battlefield is a disgrace and should be deeply disturbing to every American.
The true cost of the War on Terror is impossible to compute. We know that the US is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We know that precious lives are being lost by our military and even more, many more, precious lives are being lost by the Iraqis and Afghans.
However, one terrible cost that will be with us for decades is the cost to the wounded veterans who in many cases survived grievous wounds that would have killed them in previous wars. And I’m not writing about the financial cost, as large as that will be, but the cost of broken lives that will be experienced by many of these warriors and their families.
We as a society have just begun to pay for the reckless actions of our President George W. Bush. The price that the nation will pay for poor leadership is so large as to be incalculable.
[...] The Walter Reed “wounded warrior” story is a perfect example of how deeply ingrained hypocrisy is among not only our elected officials in Washington but our military brass as well. The Walter Reed outpatient care story was first reported by By Dana Priest and Anne Hull of the The Washington Post Feb. 22, 2007. [...]
[...] The overall neglect and poor treatment of wounded warriors at Walter Reed was disclosed about six weeks ago. It was highly embarrassing to the Bush administration, as it should have been, at a time when public opinion was turning vigorously against the Bush war in Iraq. So far the disgraceful scandal and subsequent bureaucratic delays has led to the resignation of the US Army Secretary and two generals. [...]