Will the Walter Reed scandal finally trigger mass unrest?

[babylonsister]

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/5892

Will the Walter Reed scandal finally trigger mass unrest?
by Dennis Rahkonen | Mar 6 2007 - 9:45am |


Most of them joined the military not out of any jingoistic excess or propensity for violence, but for the money and training. Very few working-class youth would become part of the armed services if ample opportunities and good jobs were widely available in their lives.

That's especially true of National Guard volunteers. Not many "weekend warriors" expected anything beyond helping within their home states after natural disasters. Just put in a couple weeks at camp during summer, and draw your pay. A pretty decent deal, all in all.

Then George Bush invaded Iraq without provocation or credible cause.

As a result, young Americans were forced into an aggressive war, falsely justified by outrageous lies, that no impartial soul could substantively differentiate from Hitler's invasion of Poland.

Nice kids from Everytown, USA suddenly became pawns in a totally illegal, immoral cause.

They were sent into harm's way, oblivious to sinister reality. Moreover, their misrepresented purpose was accompanied by a criminally inexcusable paucity of proper supplies, protective gear, and viable ways to deal with the popular insurrection that their hated presence in Iraq so fiercely engendered.


more...

[n2doc]

1. no. They are doing just enough to claim that folks are being held accountable

They have/will fire a few top brass to show that they are "serious". And there will be a great show of "cleaning up WR. But the underlying problems, including the Cheney crony who got the private contract to "run" the place, will not be changed.

The Wa Post is already running op eds on how there is "finally accountability".. In my opinion the only reason anything is being done is :
1. They can't blame it on the Democrats, as everyone knows Bushco has been running things unchecked the last 5 years and nothing was done.
2. They can't blame it on "stupid poor people" (a la Katrina) because these are the Troops we are talking about and they can't insult them without a hell of a backlash (although they initially tried)
3. Therefore, somebody has to take the fall. And they will keep firing people (preferably those out of favor with the Admin) until the propaganda takes hold or some other distraction comes up.

[CrispyQ]

2. You nailed it. --nt

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

7. Yes, but...

This is a nationwide problem (ask a veteran who's tried to get treatment in the past five years) and the most direct contact people have with the problem is patient and doctor. That is to say, out in Oklahoma you have a retired veteran who's been treated at the local VA Hospital; he and his doctor know that the conditions are atrocious and they've had more than one mutual "bitching session" about the bureaucracy. Now it's going to be plenty obvious that even at the highest levels of the government, people were aware of the problem and did nothing to resolve it.

That retired veteran in Oklahoma? The reliably Republican one? He's going to be rethinking his vote if the Democrats can show some genuine leadership on this issue. Between the war in Iraq and the treatment of veterans, Democrats have a huge opportunity to peal military votes away from the Republican Party for the first time in a generation. I hope we're smart enough to do it.

[demnan]

3. Not until the draft or the impeachment hearings

whichever is first.

[brazos121200]

4. This administration has a genius for blaming their

crimes on the Democrats, so I predict that within six months a majority of Americans will believe that the mistreatment of our veterans is the fault of the Dems in Congress. Many voters now blame Katrina on the Democratic governor and mayor down there thanks Repub propaganda.

[twiceshy]

5. I'm just glad the whole thing came out.

My prior opinion of military hospitals and VA hospitals was not one of gleaming, top-rated facilities and this just confirmed it. Hopefully the exposure will force Bush and the congress to allocate more money and clean up and improve the facilities. Regardless of what I think of the purpose of the Iraq war, I think the soldiers are entitled to first-class care at the best facilities.

[babylonsister]

6. Agreed wholeheartedly, twiceshy, and welcome to DU!

:hi:

[qwlauren35]

8. Bad Timing...

If this was spring '08, then I think we'd be on top of the world. But it's March '07, and there are a lot of American citizens with short memories.

The "re-spin" will probably somehow be tied to a previous administration cutting funds, and props for Bushco for recognizing and fixing the mess.

And by 2008, cleaning up the VA will be a "Republican accomplishment".

Just watch.

[gasperc]

9. IT COULD, IT VERY WELL COULD

HERE'S A PARTY and an administration that has gone on and on and on about supporting the troops, and now it turns out that the troops are getting treated like shit

and for the four years the GOP ran the place they ignored the complaints coming out of the VA and the Walter Reed facility

karma...is...a....bitch