George W. Bush visits Fort Hood, wounded soldiers

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: Google News

FORT HOOD, Texas — Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, have visited wounded soldiers and their families after the mass shooting at Fort Hood.

The Bushes made their private visit to Fort Hood's Darnall Army Medical Center on Friday night. Bush spokesman David Sherzer said in an e-mail that the couple thanked Fort Hood's military leaders and hospital staff for the "amazing care they are providing."

An Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 29 others in a shooting rampage Thursday at a Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood. Hasan is hospitalized, under guard.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g9WYO...

[grasswire]

1. narcissism rears its ugly head again

Ol' W always has to get through the door first.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

3. Still doin' photo ops, Stretch...still doin' photo ops.

I'd like to say this surprises me. I'd be lying.

[beac]

13. I wonder if Lizard Cheney will denounce Duhbya's doing it 'for the cameras'???

Yeah, right.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

15. She's the sperm & egg aftermath of Evil Dick's "other priorities"...

...so Liz, in ALL matters, should shut her fucking mouth about the military. Seriously. She has NO right, and a coward for a father, so the best recommendation I can give to Liz Cheney is to SHUT THE FUCK UP or ENLIST.

No third choice.

[24601]

70. Photo Ops need a photo - ya got one for this?

The article said it was a private visit.

[blm]

73. So cute how you always pop in to defend Bush. BTW, those familiar w/Bushes' MO know they make sure

that their 'private' visits get widespread press.

[Robb]

2. "Nice to visit some people I didn't cause to be wounded." nt

[blm]

17. Yes, he did. Back in 2002 some Dem lawmakers demanded WH/Pentagon fulfill mental evaluation

requirements (required by LAW) for all military personnel, especially those going into combat - They were ignored.

Bush's administration also oversaw a steep decline in after-care for returning soldiers and vets suffering physical wounds and mental ones.

[No Elephants]

40. Bingo.

[Octafish]

66. Actually, he did. Bush and his cronies lied America into two unnecessary, immoral and illegal wars.

It's not in The New York Times, but it's been covered on DU.

Know your BFEE: GW Bush Covers Up His Lying America Into War

Know your BFEE: Bush has Killed a Million Innocent People for Their Oil.

Know your BFEE: Money Trumps Peace. Always

Know your BFEE: Bush Lied America into War

Know your BFEE: James R Bath – Bush – bin Laden Link

Know your BFEE: War Profiteers

Know your BFEE: Bush and bin Laden Clans Together in Bed

[bluestateguy]

4. I can't really criticize him for this

Criticize his policies, yes that I will do. But this shooter must be responsible for his own actions, and no amount of mental anguish will justify what he did. Thousands of troops come home every year from this war with mental anguish, but don't shoot up their fellow citizens as a coping mechanism.

[aquart]

7. Nope. Pity he did so little of it while President.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

8. I'm not encouraging criticism...

...I'm just weighing his visit against the photo ops he did as president.

He may be at peace with his decisions. That doesn't mean we need to share his peace.

[customerserviceguy]

18. I agree with you

While it is possible that W's policies set the stage for what happened, I still put responsibility for it in the hands of the shooter, and in those who did not figure out quickly enough that he was a loose cannon.

[izquierdista]

33. Had Dimbulb not sent them out

On a fool's errand, they would not be coming home in mental anguish.

[No Elephants]

41. Oh, please. The guy who let Walter Reed Hospital deterirorate without a care shows up for a photo

op now.

That's exactly it. Hard to fault anyone for visiting wounded troops.

How often did he do that before this high profile event, though?

If I were in his shoes--and the least bit sincere-I would have been visiting wounded troops at least once a week, every week.

[24601]

71. You got a link to the visit photo? No photo = No photo op. n/t

[blm]

84. Got a comment about Bush overseeing the deterioration of care at Walter Reed

or does your concern for Bush's image ALWAYS take precedent on threads like this?

[24601]

91. You ever been in the military? If so, you'll understand that we are

not props to be exploited for photo ops. When we are made to do so, it's wrong. When people regardless of party visit wounded warriors and view flag-draped coffins without the press - it's a good.

Anyone claiming we're a photo op when it's false, that's wrong too and standing up for the truth on this issue isn't a partisan issue. There are plenty of things to accurately criticize Bush over; however, false claims are the boy calling wolf and it just causes people to tune us out even when the charge is true.

So my issue here stands - it was portrayed as a photo op when, in the absence of photos, it was not. Changing the subject doesn't change the truth.

But on the subject of Walter Reed - I've actually been there (medical appt, not as a tourist), have you? The fault there was continuing to send soldiers to a facility on the base closing list, not the funding for the hospital. The troops should have been sent to a different facility that should have been first-class. Pouring infrastructure rehab money into a facility that's closing is a poor use of resources.

[Ichingcarpenter]

44. I can and always will criticize him

Fuck him....... after millions of deaths that he caused.
Talk about mental anguish, geez

[Titanothere]

49. Millions of deaths?

How to you calculate that? More military men died under Clinton than Bush.

[devilgrrl]

51. "More military men died under Clinton than Bush."

Got proof?

[Ishoutandscream2]

52. Yikes! You're kidding, right?

[Titanothere]

53. I'll have to look up the reference

But all told, with the various conflicts & accidents the death toll under Clinton was greater than Bush. Strange but true.

[Patchuli]

72. That would hardly be a elusive "reference"

if such bullshit were true. You W?

[Titanothere]

54. My bad, I guess that's an urban legend but it is pretty close

Comments: The claim that there were more U.S. military fatalities during the Bill Clinton administration than there have been to date under George W. Bush is false. Moreover, that erroneous conclusion was based on falsified statistics.

Using the actual figures from the Congressional Research Service report cited above, the total military deaths under each of the two administrations are as follows:

Bill Clinton (1993 - 2000) ............. 7,500 deaths

George W. Bush (2001 - 2006) .... 8,989 deaths

[AlecBGreen]

55. link?

its traditional to post a link citing the source, otherwise anyone can just cite whatever the hell they want and claim it as fact. Example:

Who is a bigger toolbag? (1000 respondants, MOE +/- 2.1%)

Bill Clinton - 21%
George W. Bush - 78%
Other - 1%

See how easy that is!?

[Titanothere]

58. link

And no,it doesn't include contractor deaths, which I know are pretty high. I heard second hand that KBR had lost thousands, but I haven't seen any real stats. I friend of mines husband works as a ... well, the same job Hassan had, but for KBR. He'd know but I haven't asked him.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_military_death...

[surrealAmerican]

57. That statistic is from 2006.

You'll probably find different numbers if you include the whole of Bush's presidency.

It also doesn't include "private contractors".

[hileeopnyn8d]

87. Did you miss

the part where it says only 76 of those deaths under Clinton occurred from hostile action?

The rest are car accidents, illness, homicide and natural causes. Compared to Bush, where as of 2006, 2,596 were from war. And we KNOW it is higher than that.

Nice try though.

[Sadie5]

75. Trolls a plenty

Crawl back into your cave.

[karynnj]

81. Link? There were no major wars in those 8 years

So, unless you are speaking of WWII, Korean, and Vietnam War vets dying after years back home, you are likely completely wrong and possibly a troll.

[24601]

92. No, more military have died under Bush than Clinton. But with

inaction over the 1994 Rwanda genocide, many more people died under Clinton than Bush and the number still was probably under a million - closer to 800,000. But since they weren't white, it isn't covered very well in the press or in history books.

[Sheltiemama]

69. I have no problem with him doing this.

He's a former president and a former governor of Texas. This was appropriate, and I give him credit for doing it.

[Blasphemer]

79. I agree.. it's perfectly acceptable former-POTUS behavior... nt

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mstinamotorcity]

6. Please you know what that is...

Photo Ops for his up coming library. Anybody got some Pepto i think i am going to be sick.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

9. Absolutely.

He'll never tire when it comes to photo ops. Never.

[onehandle]

10. They should grab him and make him complete his military service.

There's a war out there with his name on it.

[Duer 157099]

11. Haven't they suffered enough already?

Talk about adding insult to injury.

[Xenotime]

76. Exactly. This is mostly his fault.

[UTUSN]

12. Too late, Shrub. You've been relieved of the duty you neglected. n/t

[MaineDem]

14. BFD

He's still responsible.

[Judi Lynn]

16. He spent very little time visiting the victims of his wrongful war on Iraq. n/t

[caseymoz]

19. Horrifying the ranks with the meerist vision that he was still president.

But no, I really can't criticize him for this.

[Gman2]

20. This is to innoculate him against the recently updated charge, that he didnt visit any funerals

[rocktivity]

25. I think it's also a backhanded jab at Obama

Nothing like this ever happened on a military base on HIS watch!


rocktivity

[Gman2]

30. I dont think Georgie Porgy is doing any funny business. He would rather hide.

Mostly. And do neocon speeches.

[struggle4progress]

42. "The White House announced today the Obamas plan to attend a memorial service there on Tuesday"

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/11/geor...

[struggle4progress]

45. Obama Quietly Visits Wounded Troops (6 Nov)

By Jeff Zeleny

There were no television cameras trailing President Obama on Friday afternoon as he visited wounded soldiers and family members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

It is a standard practice for the president – the same rule his predecessors followed – when visiting troops injured in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. For nearly two hours, Mr. Obama spent time with 19 soldiers and three families of soldiers in the intensive care unit. He also awarded two Purple Hearts.

The White House said the trip was unrelated to the massacre at Fort Hood, but the afternoon visit certainly drew more notice because of the shootings in Texas.

He did not speak to reporters when he arrived at Walter Reed ...

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/obama-qui...

[Solly Mack]

21. It's disgusting that a war criminal can get attention & credit for

using a tragedy on a military post to boost his legitimacy, which the attention and credit only contributes to


The man is a war criminal and not just any war criminal either. He was the President in the criminal executive that implemented a torture program, that lied and trumped up evidence to start a war, that committed multiple crimes and abuses of office - actions that directly harmed the very community he is using as a photo-op now. (and not just them)

[Bitwit1234]

22. Was it a photo op he loves those

AND by the way...where's Perry. Does he have a paramour in one of the Latin Countries.

[maglatinavi]

24. Perry

He is an assassin ...please keep him away fron decent people and soldiers, lest he soils the ambience already soiled by Dubhya's visit...

[Christa]

23. He owns the Fort Hood Tragedy

as much as he owns the wars.

[David Zephyr]

27. Bingo. Sums up the entire episode.

!

[Francis Marion]

34. Does this absolve the good doctor of blame? Clarify please.

[Titanothere]

50. Actually, Hassan owns that tragedy

Maybe you missed the story on who pulled the trigger?

[blm]

74. Maybe YOU missed that Bush was sending mentally unstable troops for duty throughout his terms

as early as 2001 and systematically IGNORED the laws that required mental evaluations for all military personnel.

In 2002 Kerry and some other Dem lawmakers requested Bush fulfill this LEGAL OBLIGATION and he and Rumsfeld chose not to. I am sure Hasan and others had to deal with the the far-reaching damage of that decision, not to mention Bush's decision to go into war based in LIES.

[Titanothere]

77. Well, let's all shed a tear for poor Mr Hasan

he was sooo mistreated. Oh wait, he never even saw a deployment, just easy living in the USA. Are you suggesting his killing spree was justified because of Bush's LIES? Tell that to the families of the slain.

[blm]

78. You completely missed the point - it's clear he broke mentally - you excuse Bush who had REAL POWER

and was required to follow the LAW, especially as commander-in-chief, and you want to put ALL blame on someone who clearly had mental problems and ADDED stress in his job counseling OTHER troops with mental vulnerabilities EXACERBATED by Bush's decisions.

How many mothers and fathers do the unthinkable - broken people from everyday stress, not just because of financial strains and daily work burdens, but, also because they were never prepared for the burdens of parenthood?

Bush had a power over military personnel that he deliberately used for WRONG and you want to put ALL blame only on the broken individual? Are you even AWARE of how many homicides, suicides and increased violence has been occuring in the miliatry the last 8 years?

You think incidents like this happen in a vacuum?

[Ignis]

82. Enjoy your stay.

Brief though it may be.

[Titanothere]

83. So I'm supposed to have sympathy for this murderer

and blame the whole thing on Bush?

Seriously?

I'm dumbfounded. You kick people off this board who are AGAINST people shooting up American military bases?

Wow.

As someone who lives not too far from Ft Hood I'm more than a little pissed at this a-hole Hasan and am in no mood to pontificate about how it's really all W's fault. Maybe if you lived around here or had friends/family in the military you'd be a little less "understanding" of Hasan and give less of a crap about his motives.

I guess people with less than a 1000+ posts are supposed to do what they're told, think like they're told and post nothing but agreements to the veterans.

Maybe I will get the boot; have fun living in a fantasy land where thought and opinions are dictated for you. Holy friggin crap; I expected more out of a board called "Democratic" Underground; I guess I was misinformed on the recommendation to come out here.

[blm]

85. Try going back to the POINT of the post and leave the hyperbole behind.

You leap quickly to attack and assign all blame to Hasan, who clearly broke mentally, while ignoring that violent incidents, including homicides and suicides have increased substantially the last 8yrs, and coinciding with Bush's decision to forego strict mental evaluations for military personnel since 2001.

[Titanothere]

86. If what you're saying is that the Army, under GWB's direction,

has allowed unstable loons to be in positions where they can wreak havok, then I'll certainly have to agree to that (not knowing the details of the directives you mention). Hasan should have been removed years earlier, but that doesn't absolve him of responsibility for his actions, and he's still a scumbag, GWB or no.

[blm]

89. Of course he gets the giant share of the blame - but, Bush had POWER to do the right thing for ALL

military personnel and their families and CHOSE NOT TO for over 7 years. He also did NOTHING to halt the 'Holy War' assignation for these wars, and, instead exacerbated that sentiment with his own choice of language. How do you think Muslim military personnel reaching the brink mentally felt with their religion targeted as the enemy nearly every day for all those years? Even relatively healthy minds can break from that much vitriol hurled at them for years.

[Ignis]

88. So many strawmen, so little time.

FR has warped your brain, little one. Put down the Beck-pipe and back away slowly.

Oh, and why do you hate America?

[AlphaCentauri]

26. You see why we invaded Iraq

[lib2DaBone]

28. Oh good god... gag a magot......

[tomm2thumbs]

29. visiting a portion of his handiwork, long overdue

I wonder if anyone threw an army boot at him

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

31. Even an ex-president's visit is a major event

You've got to divert resources that would better be used elsewhere. This includes the command staff. Although this is a military base, the recent atrocity has demonstrated that even in such a tightly controlled environment it's possible for one determined individual to wreak havoc.

When W. chose to do his photo-op (most likely to rehabilitate his image -- he loved playing the Commander-in-Chief role on military bases, where by regulation no one could disagree with him) he sucked military and civilian security personnel away from performing their primary duties.

He could have done a fly-over (like Katrina) and used a photo of him looking thoughtfully out the aircraft (like Katrina) with an appropriate caption lauding his concern for the victims (like Katrina).

Hell, he could have gotten that photo without even leaving the ground.

[Londra kulesi muhaf]

32. I can't wait for the photos and video of this little stunt!

It will be good to see the soldiers flipping that azzhole the bird and booing him and his wife! How was he even allowed on the base with his entourage of reporters and photographers and various hangers on? It's just disgusting what those people had to go through.

[Big_Mike]

60. No, I think there will be few, if any, pics come out

* used to visit Walter Reed quite often, and he almost NEVER told the press or published photos. The only photos I ever saw were ones that family members took or the service members themselves gave out that showed him at all.

[unkachuck]

35. "...George W. Bush and his wife, Laura..."

"...the couple thanked Fort Hood's military leaders and hospital staff for the 'amazing care they are providing.'"

"...Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 29..."

....amazifying....

[Hekate]

36. We don't like him (with good reason) but this was the right thing to do. Really. nt

[Algorem]

37. "See,I was right it's a Crusade.Now go kill Ol' George up a mess of Moslems,soldier people."

[harry_pothead]

38. As bad a president as Lesser Bush was

This kind of thing is a standard non-controversial ex-presidential thing.

[vadawg]

39. especially as it happened on his doorstep so to speak,

not got any problem with this at all...

[lonestarnot]

43. And was the sonofabitch drunk too? I mean we all know he's nuts. Who took his picture for his

fireplace?

[Name removed]

46. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[western mass]

47. the ass** knows a lot about murdering American soldiers

he managed to kill a few thousand himself.

[thepeopleunited]

48. Didn't he visit ground zero too?

Just sayin'.

[AlecBGreen]

56. Maybe its genuine, maybe not

I have a student who lies constantly. Therefore anytime he says something, I think to myself "bull$hit."

Bush has shown himself to be a warmongering wingnut, an imbecile and an arrogant, unapologetic asshole. So his trip to Ft. Hood might be out of genuine concern and a desire to help, but the last 8 years make me think otherwise.

[BigBluenoser]

59. All I know is that the soldiers in this part of TX....

Love George Bush. Seriously, they do. Not all, but most. They all bought the shiny pro-soldier package and never opened the box.

[stopchildabuse]

61. violence

Violence has become such a large part of our culture. When will people learn to stop.

[underpants]

62. Ironically printed today on my local rag

President Obama went to Dover Air Force Base in the middle of the night to salute the 18 fallen soldiers who came back from Afghanistan. Did he use it as a photo op because he knows he is unpopular with the military? I don't remember President Bush ever going there with all those photographers around him.

-- Mary Griffin, Richmond

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/commenta...

[undeterred]

63. Good for him.

That's not a bad way for an ex-President to spend his time.

[TheWatcher]

65. He should be spending his days incarcerated.

As for the soldiers he visited, He's the reason they are there.

He's a piece of shit War Criminal and should be given no credit for anything.

[TheWatcher]

64. "Hitler Visits Auschwitz, Doomed Prisoners"

Color me unimpressed, you giggling murderer.

[deutsey]

67. I'm sure his publicist told him this will help him improve his brand.

Yes, I actually think Bush is that shallow and cynical.

[lynne]

68. Certainly reasonable, I applaud him for doing this -

- Like him or not, as a former President this visit was certainly understandable. Bush resides in Texas so it's on his home turf. I've seen no photo's of him from this visit so I don't see how anyone can consider it a photo-op.

I am glad they made the visit for sake of the soldiers and their families.

[bamacrat]

80. I wonder if he feels at all responsible for this?

Sending our troops to an unnecessary war to die for something that is not clear or needed makes people snap. Very sad this happened.

[BreweryYardRat]

90. La Famiglia is pulling the puppet strings again.

ANYONE think he'd do this of his own volition?