Democrats fume over Walter Reed scandal

[dogday]

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats on Sunday kept up their attacks on substandard care for injured soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as they prepared for hearings on the issue this week.

"If it's this bad at the outpatient facilities at Walter Reed, how is it in the rest of the country?" Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on ABC's "This Week." "Walter Reed is our crown jewel."

In a letter sent Sunday to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Schumer called for the creation of an independent commission to examine conditions at all medical facilities treating military personnel and veterans. He suggested that former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, a retired Army general and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, lead the panel.

"To think that men and women are serving their country in the most honorable and courageous way possible and all we give them is a dilapidated, rat-infested, rundown building to recover is a disgrace," he wrote. "My fear is that Walter Reed is just the tip of the iceberg, and merely highlights the pervasive and systemic mistreatment of our service members."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-reed5mar05,0,3110412.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[sarge43]

1. Powell has always been a hand puppet

If he must be on any investigating panel, then Wes Clark should be there, too.

[dogday]

2. We should be shouting the fact that Republicans are

responsible for this mess, and how they have cut the VA budget, and how the vets have been treated.. How they treat all of our servicemen.. All of this should be shouted from the rooftops...

It is the fault of the Republicans.....

[LiberalEsto]

3. First, stop the war

Politicians are using the disgusting situation at Walter Reed as an excuse to avoid taking strong action to stop the Iraq war that's creating all these injury victims.

Yes, Walter Reed needs to be cleaned up immediately, but we elected these people to end the war, and they're not doing enough, IMHO.