Memorial honoring fallen soldiers runs out of room

Posted on Fri, May. 04, 2007

Memorial honoring fallen soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan runs out of room

By Frank Davies
San Jose Mercury News(MCT)

WASHINGTON - Congress already has run out of space on a memorial created last year to honor all of the U.S. service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In a grim sign of the times, the "Wall of the Fallen," set up by House Republican leaders in June, is almost full. The mounting death toll from Iraq has forced U.S. House staffers to study how to reconfigure the display in the lobby of the Rayburn Building - the largest office building for members of Congress - to squeeze in more names.
According to the Defense Department, 3,736 U.S. service members died in the two wars by the end of April. New names are added to the display every few months, but none have been added since November. The last name listed is Lance Cpl. Luke Holler, 21-year-old Marine reservist from Bulverde, Texas, killed by an explosive device on Nov. 2.
In the current format, there is space for about 130 more names, but 506 Americans have died since mid-November. In April, 104 Americans were killed in the war's sixth-deadliest month.
With a fierce debate raging over Iraq in Congress as President Bush resists the Democrats' push for a timetable for troop withdrawal, the wall has taken on symbolic importance to some members.
"It's just another example of how pathetically unprepared and unrealistic the supporters of this war have been," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a San Jose Democrat and member of the Administration Committee that oversees operations in House buildings.
Rep. Vernon Ehlers, the Michigan Republican who chaired the committee last summer, said members and staffers "simply wanted to do something to honor those who had made this sacrifice."
Outside individual offices on Capitol Hill, many members have put the names and photos of war fatalities from their states on posters. But Ehlers wanted something "more fitting, that would include everyone." The Rayburn foyer was chosen because it had a large wall in a busy area.
Ehlers said it was difficult to plan how much blank space to leave in a display listing fatalities while a war is going on. When he walked by the wall recently, Ehlers said he realized: "Boy, we could have a problem. More space is needed."
From a few yards away, the display looks like a marble memorial. It's actually a series of laminated poster-board strips with the embossed names of those killed, listed by year and month. The display is titled "Honoring the Fallen - in solemn tribute to the sacrifices of the men and women of the United States Armed Forces."
Dan Beard, the House administrative officer recently appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, will look at ways to "reformat the wall" to include all names, said Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Pelosi.
Like Ehlers, Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., walks by the wall often on his way to his office in the Rayburn Building. He said the names of fatalities filling up the display "just tears at everyone's heart."
"This is so sad," Delahunt said. "This states so poignantly and ironically that we never thought about needing extra space. The concept of the wall is laudable, but no one wanted to think about how many more soldiers would die."
---



Is 'Funding' Really For Troops?
What Happened To Funding and Oversite For Military/Veteran Care In Previous Congresses?

"The Long Road Home"

New Raddatz Book Looks at Iraq Insurgency Turning Point

ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz talks about her new book, The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family, which details the April 4, 2004, battle in Sadr City that killed eight U.S. soldiers and wounded more than 70 others. The surpise attack on the troops marked the beginning of the on-going violent insurgency.
Listen In Real Media

This is a Tear Jerker of Reality, wish they had put up the video of it from last nights News Hour.

***************

Disgust Grows...

And Grows, and Grows, and Grows................!

Iraq War Veteran Shot in Leg by Friendly Fire Denied VA Disability Benefits

Just last week veterans affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said "these heroes should not have to fight bureaucratic red tape for benefits earned by their courageous service." Ryan Riddle is a Connecticut veteran who has been fighting through that red tape ever since he was wounded in Iraq.

VCS Note: Go to this link to view the TV news cast of the reporter tracking down VA's Ron Aument at a Senate hearing after VA refused to do an interview.

Or use this Link to Get Video of above report directly.

Reporters track down the needed information that the VA can't!!!!

'Supplemental'? Where's the 'Supplemetal' For The Returning Troops?

Does "Support The Troops" mean only the War Theater Funding to continue the Slaughter of them and those in the country they occupy?

Where is the "Supplementals" for the monies needed for the returning troops and the veterans who served this country?

Where have the present Administration and the previous Congresses been as these present day Combat Troops return home and many needing that which this Country promised them in fullfilling their Contracts with us?

The previous Congresses held the power of the purse, held the power to investigate, held the power of oversight, where were they as everything concerning the returning military was completely falling apart, AWOL!

Why aren't those who still call themselves republican{?} screaming for their representatives accountibility, after all they hold themselves extremely high as to Patriotism, Strong on Defense, and Flag Waving, Magnetic Ribbon, only ones Who Truely "Support The Troops" and are the real americans, or is that amerikans!!

Directly below is an NPR, local to Charlotte NC, show on Charlotte Talks.
This group of Afgan/Iraq Vets are fighting for an Education Bill for all Combat Vets.
The link leads you to the archive page. This should stay up a few weeks than you might have to use date and title to find this show.

Monday April 30,UNCC Iraq War Veterans
We revisit an outstanding group of UNCC students who served in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan. Members of the UNCC Iraq Veterans' Club will talk about their experiences in the conflicts as well as their assimilation back to civilian life here in our region.
Guests
Major Jack McKinley (Retired), U.S. Air Force
Sergeant Juan Euvin (Retired), U.S. Army, founder and President of the UNCC Veterans' Club
T.J. Rose, Veterans Service Specialist, Mecklenburg County Veterans Service Agency

This link was working fine before, To Listen to show, they now apparently are having a glitch in it as they have this "Note: Technical problem - audio starts 4:06 minutes into the interview." posted at the site. It does start at the 4:06 mark.
If above doesn't work try this link which downloads and brings up player, though same glitch.

This is a real good show and I'm positive these fine young Veterans aren't the only ones organizing, of the present generation, and fighting for what they were told would be there for them and what they deserve from the Country they served. How do I know, it's tradition now for All of us Veteran's, healthy and not, since Korea, because Country "Doesn't Support Fully Those Who Serve It"!

Visit their site to find out more about them, and if in North Carolina throw your Support behind their New Battles! If not find a local group, near you, and do same.

For without the Civilian Population doing what it should and promised by contract to do, another generation of Combat Veterans will be an even more costly burden on same!

Now as I continue keep in mind whom and what had total control of the federal government for the past 6yrs. and as for the congress even longer! When , in the present, blame is being called for "Supporting The Troops" in the Supplemental, what does that mean, one only "Supports The Troops" in Theater or does Country have a Duty to "Support The Troops" Completely! Where was "Total Support" in the previous Congresses and present Administration while we had Two Theaters of War Operations Raging?

The link below is another NPR program, listen in to find out how the Military is maintaining their recruiting goals, it's your Military and Monies.

Against the Odds, Army Meets Recruiting Goals
by Guy Raz
Morning Edition, May 1, 2007 · The U.S. economy is getting stronger, and the war in Iraq is getting more unpopular. Normally that spells trouble for military recruiters. But for nearly two years, the Army has managed to meet or exceed its recruiting and retention goals.
Listen to Report

This one, below, I found very interesting and with a number of great points by both Diane Rehm and Robert Hormats:

Robert Hormats: "The Price of Liberty" (Times Books)
An international financing expert draws on history for lessons about how to finance the current War on Terrorism.
Guests
Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs, he has served in numerous presidential administrations and is a former member of the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Listen in Real Audio
Listen in Windows Media

To continue with what is said in the top Charlotte Talks show, lets see what more is really going on.

NPR - The World: War Anniversary
Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with Washington Post Pentagon correspondent Thomas Ricks about the war in Iraq, four years after President Bush declared that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended."
Listen in Windows Media

With above and individual cases below.

War's Lasting Toll on the Mind
A large number of war veterans seek help for mental health problems.

"They kept badgering me," said former Lance Cpl. Jeremy Williams, of his fellow marines "[They said] 'What, are you crazy from Iraq?' -- making me feel like it was all my fault when I had gone to Iraq a third time."
His wife too has experienced the stigma associated with PTSD.
"I've actually had people laugh at me," said Christina Williams. "How can you laugh at me? You don't understand why our children don't understand why daddy is so mad all the time."
Jeremy Williams' anger is a symptom of his post-traumatic stress disorder. He and his wife filed for divorce three times before they got counseling.

Experts warn it is a looming public health crisis.
"The risk is worse than Vietnam," said Dr. Joseph Bobrow, a psychologist and director of the Coming Home Project. "We've gotta get to work, because the problem will become astronomical, and we are completely unprepared for it."
***
At a Berkeley, Calif., church, veterans and their families gathered for their second weekend retreat sponsored by the Coming Home Project.

Watch The Video Report of Above

And these:

For One Couple, Struggle to Find Better Care Led to Relocation

For veterans in rural areas, care hard to reach

Mental health worsens as deployments lengthen

And from today's, 5-4-07, NPR 'Here and Now show, this on site report:

Pentagon Report Spotlights Mental Health Disorders

Pentagon says that more than a third of active duty troops and military veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from mental health disorders. Kelly Kennedy, a reporter with the Army Times, briefs us on the report's details.
Listen to this Short, but Informative, Report

Deployments strain troops' mental health
5-4-07
Pentagon panel warns overburdened system could fail to meet needs.
With the war escalating in Iraq, a Pentagon task force is calling for more money to provide treatment and preventive care for troops suffering from psychological problems.
Watch Video Report

Troops having a Problem with the Realities of War, Drug 'em! Than send them back out on Patrol after that great sleep!

Drug Helps War Veterans Sleep
According to a new study, the drug Prazosin improves sleep and reduces traumatic nightmares in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. "This is the first drug that has been demonstrated effective for PTSD nightmares and sleep disruption," said the study's leader, Dr. Murray A. Raskind of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, Washington. Prazosin is a widely-used hypertension drug and is sold the brand name Minipress. Three larger studies of the drug are either underway or scheduled to begin soon.

Medical system snares wounded warriors

And not only Military Troops suffering from the Hell Of War Theaters.

U.S. diplomats returning from Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder

With that last, keep in mind, or bring forward in your mind, what the Iraqi People, Hundreds of Thousands, who are now Living in Hell On Earth are going through, the ones that Survive that is!!! Think some might be Royally Pissed Enough to defend Their Country and rid it of the Occupiers?

Patrick Yoest
Congressional Quarterly
May 01, 2007

Wounded Vets, Broken System-pdf
Data the VA released in February confirmed that active duty service members are nearly twice as likely as reservists to have claims approved. "The result is devastating and scandalous," said Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense and a former project manager at the Veterans Benefits Administration. "The VA should immediately and aggressively investigate this problem and then correct it."

And there are So Many More reports, such as the ones above, which came about this week alone. So many that it's impossible for anyone to have been able to view them All!

In the reports below we find out what has been going on in the VA System while Wars Rage and the Maimed return!

Find out what is going on within a Veterans Facility near you, I'm sure this isn't issolated!

VA hospital bonuses come despite poor patient care, deaths

Top N.C. hospital officials got $335,000
STELLA M. HOPKINS
The VA paid bonuses of more than $335,000 to some of its top N.C. hospital managers during years when they received reports of poor patient care and suspicious deaths.
Executives at the Salisbury veterans hospital were rewarded with bonuses in 2004 and 2005, as VA officials investigated unexpected deaths.
Regional VA managers in Durham also received bonuses during that time. And they received bonuses as the Asheville veterans hospital struggled with staffing shortages that investigators found caused poor care. The Asheville nursing home unit also had been ordered in 2004 to suspend admissions after a patient died.

Bonuses for Incompetence, while I wonder where were the 'Medals Of Freedom' also!

Mismanage Your Department, Short Change War Vets -- Get $33,000 Bonus

'Money Is Going to the Wrong Spot'

Veterans React to Big Bonuses at the VA

The VA doled out $3.8 million worth of bonuses last year as scandals emerged about the agency.

Lawmakers Want VA to Explain Bonuses
Congressional leaders demanded that the veterans affairs secretary explain hefty bonuses for senior department officials involved in crafting a budget that came up $1 billion short and jeopardized veterans' health care.

You've just read abit about the Incompetence being Rewarded, soak this one in:

VA Cited Eight Years in a Row
VA was recently rated by an independent research center as having one of the best annual performance reports in the federal sector for the eighth year in a row. Called "Eighth Annual Performance Report Scorecard: Which Federal Agencies Best Inform the Public?" the new report by the Mercatus Center of George Mason University found VA's reports are "rich in information on efforts to improve programmatic and managerial performance." VA published its latest performance and accountability report in November 2006. The Department's report can be found on the Internet So take a look for yourself.

And who says the Government isn't Completely Honest to those they work for! Now what other little falsehoods are they laying on us to look Competent and Leading us forward!

Well Paul Rieckhoff, of IAVA has an answer to the above report and they put it on, where else, YouTube:

Rewarding Incompetence

IAVA is featured in this ABC News Segment on reports that despite being underfunded, underprepared and plagued with problems, the VA recently rewarded generous salaries to many of its top executives.
*****
From an IAVA E-Letter
For those of you who can't keep track of all the different ways returning troops are getting the run-around, here's a quick recap of what we saw in 2005:
++In their budget request for 2005, VA based their numbers on the data from 2002 -- before the war in Iraq even started. As a result, they expected only 23,500 new veterans to seek services, instead of the 103,000 new veterans who returned from war needing care. So the VA asked Congress for $1 billion less than they would actually need.
++While local facilities were flooded with new veterans and forced to ration care, VA bureaucrats spent six months telling a concerned Congress that there wasn't a problem. As late as summer 2004, VA Secretary Nicholson assured Senate leadership that "the VA does not need emergency supplemental funds in FY 2005." Eventually, the VA finally admitted the billion-dollar shortfall and requested emergency funding, but not before thousands of veterans were affected by the six-month budget crunch.

One wonders why the Administration hasn't been asking for Supplementals for Military Health Care Costs as their Debacle grew, overwelming the system with the Maimed!

Now a little look, again, at the Military Health Care System. And keep the thought in mind "Who had Total Control over the Federal Government the past 6yrs, while Two War Theaters were Raging?", the purse, the investigative powers, the complete oversite of all operations!

Money, Neglect Cited in Walter Reed Ills
Too Little Funding, Too Little Attention Blamed for Problems at Walter Reed

Going into the fifth year in Iraq we get this:

Pentagon Forms Committee to Oversee Walter Reed Repairs
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Wednesday that the military has formed a committee to oversee improvements to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The co-chairman of the independent review group, Togo West, details the responsibilities of the new committee.
Streaming Audio

Now as we grow the ranks of Combat Veterans the trend seems to be another Deja - Vu of our past conflicts from Korea forward.

Insult to Injury

New data reveal an alarming trend: Vets disabilities are being downgraded



While most recent attention has been paid to the issues at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, veterans advocates say that a more grievous problem is an arbitrary and dysfunctional disability ratings process that is short-changing the newest crop of veterans.

If you read the above this next snippit should make you wonder, as I did, under what criteria were these federal retired judges called back into service, anything like the DOJ hirings?!?!

Veterans Court on Record-Setting Pace
Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims began calling up retired federal judges to help the court deal with an unprecedented caseload, and new data show that it may be paying off. In the past six months, the court has decided more cases than it did during the entire year before. During the second quarter of this fiscal year, the court issued almost 2,000 decisions -- averaging over 650 per month. The court is still on pace to issue over 4,800 decisions this year, the highest output level in the court's history.

To learn more about veterans claims, visit the Military.com Legal Matters Section.

Now somebody told me that Military.com has abit of a rightwing swing. I would say it's more of a propaganda feel good righthand swing, just abit.

And as it continues one could only expect what the head republican{?} would do as to "Supporting The Troops", this:

Bush Vetoes Bill with $1.8 Billion for Wounded War Veterans
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Senator Murray's Statement on Bushes Veto of the Supplemental Appropriations Bill:
Murray says: "Four years ago today the President stood among our troops to declare an end to combat operations in Iraq . Now he stands alone in denying them the support and leadership they need."

By the way 1.8 Billion is only a drop in the bucket, a bandaid, of the actual costs needed now and well into the future!

I want the above, and more, brought up at Every National Political Debate, both parties, that means you who are still calling yourselves republican, also!

I want to hear the above brought up with the talking heads, and pols going head to head, when discussion comes around to Supplementals for the War but not for the Returned Warriors!

I want to see National Political ads asking the questions of Why this has been going on while we had Two Conflict Theaters Raging!

I want to hear anyone, especially those on an Independant or Democratic ticket, running for National Office, asking the Right Questions about Why!

And what I Really Want, is for the American People to Stand Up and FIRE this Whole Corrupt, Incompetent Administration with Absolutely No thoughts or language that might give to escaping any possible Criminal Indictments from their Actions, and that includes All the underlings hired by this Administration!!

Iraq and Vietnam

Jan Berry - Newsletter

May 3

They are two different countries in different parts of the world. What
unites Iraq and Vietnam are American attitudes and actions. After
supporting the disastrous military campaign in Vietnam, a majority of
Americans did the same thing all over again and supported invading Iraq.
Indeed, the war in Iraq was a continuation of the bitter battles here at
home over Vietnam.

As my friend, and fellow Vietnam vet, Ken Campbell, wryly notes in his new
book—Tale of Two Quagmires: Iraq, Vietnam, and the Hard Lessons of War—“Some have said we failed to learn the lessons of Vietnam. This is not
quite true. The United States did, in fact, learn lessons from Vietnam.
The problem is we learned too many lessons, and they frequently contradict
each other.”

Perhaps the most disturbing lesson of all is that Americans are addicted
to war. Even in the current climate of public dismay over what’s happening
in Iraq, there is no civic groundswell to wage a diplomatic campaign to
resolve issues that inflame the Middle East. Despite the horrendous
carnage in Vietnam and its bloody sequel in Iraq, Americans are still
primed to wage war against somebody. So much so, that an unusual coalition
of retired generals, admirals and ambassadors has felt compelled to issue
public warnings about the consequences of military action against Iran.

Is anybody listening to these voices of experience? Previously, a number
of high ranking retired military leaders, vowing to never repeat their
experience in Vietnam, publicly warned against invading Iraq—and were
ignored by Congress, the Bush administration, the news media and the
American people.

And now some of the fiercest critics of the war in Iraq are soldiers who
fought there.

“Americans generals have repeated the mistakes of Vietnam in Iraq,” a
two-tour veteran of Iraq, Lt. Col. Paul Yingling, recently wrote in the
Armed Forces Journal. “No one leader, civilian or military, caused failure
in Vietnam or Iraq. Different military and civilian leaders in the two
conflicts produced similar results,” he concluded in a devastating
critique of the war he fought in. His proposed solution: choose better
trained military leaders. Other veterans are calling for a reexamination
of America’s fixation with finding military solutions to international
disputes and ideological differences.

The Vietnam war, as the late great New York Times reporter David
Halberstam insightfully noted, was a product of America’s “best and
brightest” military and strategic shakers and doers. After Vietnam, the US
military reorganized, retrained and redeployed its best units and
commanders—and came up with the war in Iraq. Consequently, many veterans
of Vietnam and Iraq are seeking a different strategy.

A grassroots perspective that challenged the war policy was drafted by a
group of Vietnam veterans who opposed the invasion of Iraq and issued a
statement in spring 2003 signed by thousands of veterans, from World War
II to the first Gulf War. Based on experience, these veterans said “we do
not believe that the American military can or should be used as the police
force of the world by any administration, Republican or Democrat.
Consequently, we believe that the lives and well being of our nation's
soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines should not be squandered or
sacrificed for causes other than in the direct defense of our people and
nation.”

A year later, as the first wave of invasion troops came home, a new
organization was formed—Iraq Veterans Against the War. The group modeled
itself on Vietnam Veterans Against the War. The sobering legacy of Vietnam
and Iraq, these veterans hope, will be a transformation in America’s
involvement in the world, from sending military expeditionary forces
blundering blindly into other people’s homelands to true international
cooperation and security.

Retired general William Odom, a Vietnam veteran and former head of the
National Security Agency, tried to explain this call by veterans and
others for a different course of action in a recent radio address:

"The challenge we face today is not how to win in Iraq; it is how to
recover from a strategic mistake: invading Iraq in the first place," Odom
said. "The war could never have served American interests. But it has
served Iran's interest by revenging Saddam Hussein's invasion of Iran in
the 1980s and enhancing Iran's influence within Iraq. It has also served
al Qaeda's interests, providing a much better training ground than did
Afghanistan.... We cannot 'win' a war that serves our enemies interests
and not our own. Thus continuing to pursue the illusion of victory in Iraq
makes no sense....

“No effective new strategy can be devised for the United States until it
begins withdrawing its forces from Iraq.... Withdrawal is the
pre-condition for winning support from countries in Europe that have stood
aside and other major powers including India, China, Japan, Russia. It
will also shock and change attitudes in Iran, Syria, and other countries
on Iraq's borders, making them far more likely to take seriously new U.S.
approaches, not just to Iraq, but to restoring regional stability and
heading off the spreading chaos that our war has caused.”

On Point

Aired: Monday, March 26, 2007 10-11AM ET
Mayor Rocky Anderson
A conversation with Salt Lake City's big-talking mayor, Rocky Anderson
.

Utah is Republican and strongly Mormon. Salt Lake City's mayor is lapsed Mormon and fiery Democrat. Now, from the deep Mountain West, he's calling for an impeachment in Washington and attacking a national "culture of obedience."

Real Media Player

Quotes from the Show:

"I think this president has so badly abused his power, breached his trust in remarkable ways with our Congress, with the American people, has violated so many of our international treaty obligations, our Constitution, our domestic statutory laws, and has been responsible for ordering and condoning heinous human rights violations. We need to draw the line." - Rocky Anderson, (D) Mayor of Salt Lake City.

"If there is ever a time that impeachment would be appropriate, this is certainly the time." - Rocky Anderson, (D) Mayor of Salt Lake City.

*****
Aired: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 10-11AM ET
Benchmarks and Beyond in Iraq
The state of the Iraqi government, the benchmarks, and fate of two nations.

Real Media Player

Quotes from the Show:

"What we're seeing here is a widening disconnect between the Bush administration and the Iraqi politicians on how they see Iraq's future." Sudarsan Raghavan

"The Iraqis have their own calendar. They're saying that given Iraq's reality they need to pursue [reforms] on their timeline, not Washington's." Sudarsan Raghavan

"The Iraqis do not understand how American people are losing patience with them. ...They have no sense of urgency." Lawrence Korb

"Unless we set a deadline, they [Iraqis] are not going to know we are serious." Lawrence Korb

"Our national security position in the world is getting weaker and weaker." Lawrence Korb

"The [Iraqi] government is ineffective and has no work to do." Listener

Cold War Veterans Exposed to Nuclear Weapons

Veterans exposed to nuclear weapons
US Government

A class action lawsuit has been filed against the US Government for allegedly withholding payment of medical costs to Cold War veterans exposed to nuclear weapons. The suit was filed on behalf of veterans who became ill after making bombs for the country’s nuclear arsenal. The lawsuit claims Labor Department officials are denying, delaying, and limiting doctors’ orders to provide high levels of home nursing care for severely ill and dying weapons workers. Some workers have had to wait seven months or more for their care to be approved, and then at a level less than their doctors’ ordered.

The workers are eligible for the home health care as part of a compensation program created by federal law in 2001, when the government acknowledged, after decades of denials, that nuclear weapons workers had faced health risks that were sometimes hidden from them.

US Government Legal Help

If you or a loved one has suffered damages in this health care coverage case, please click the link below to send your US Government complaint to a lawyer who will evaluate your claim at no cost or obligation.
Click here to submit your complaint through a secure form
to Holland & Hart - Greg Piche

Articles Concerning Veteran, All Veterans, Medical Malpractice Linked At This Site

Cold War Times in PDF

Pentagon Forms Committee to Oversee Walter Reed Repairs

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Wednesday that the military has formed a committee to oversee improvements to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The co-chairman of the independent review group, Togo West, details the responsibilities of the new committee.

Listen to Report and Read Transcript Here

Or you can Listen here in Real Audio

TOGO WEST: The A-76 procedure is a procedure by which a facility evaluates whether it should take governmental assignments and convert them into private contractor assignments. It almost freezes any hiring until that process is completed.

It was a long process. Once it was done, Walter Reed was down by as much as 37 percent among its most important caseworker, nursing, and the like functions.

JIM LEHRER: In other words, the number of people available to do the work was going down while the number of patients was increasing, both of them dramatically, right?

TOGO WEST: They, the Army personnel there, they, the intermediate supervisors, and, yes, to get to your real question, they, the people in charge, the commander, the surgeon general. And they were soldiering ahead, like the Army, does trying to make do as best they could in time of war and with a lot of funding going to other things.

JIM LEHRER: But they sounded no alarms and did nothing about it?

TOGO WEST: Only Secretary Gates can answer that. What is clear was that what he did sent a message that reverberated throughout the Pentagon, the services, in terms of his determination to get, a, to the bottom of it, but also, b, to see what lessons needed to be learned to care for servicemembers.

This is the all-volunteer military. This is a nation and a service at war in two theaters. He had to do that, in his view, I am certain, and it certainly did send a strong message.

A Veto Inked in Blood

A Veto Inked in Blood
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Columnist

Wednesday 02 May 2007

There are some similarities, of course. Death is terrible.
- George W. Bush on comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam, April 19, 2007

Four years after a humiliating strut across the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, four years after declaring major combat operations in Iraq ended and the mission accomplished, four years and more than three thousand dead American soldiers later, four long years to the day, George W. Bush delivered a veto that only ensures more wretched and bloody carnage.

"Bush used his veto pen for only the second time Tuesday," reported NBC News, "after Congress sent him a war spending bill that would impose timelines to withdraw US troops from Iraq, which he called a 'prescription for chaos.' The bill is unacceptable because it 'substitutes the opinions of politicians for the judgments of our military commanders,' the president said in a nationally televised address to explain why he was vetoing a bill that would also provide more than $100 billion in emergency spending for the war."

Take a moment to absorb the twin-bill nonsense within that explanation.

The now-vetoed, multi-billion-dollar Iraq spending bill, which contained withdrawal timelines demanded by Congressional Democrats, "substitutes the opinions of politicians for the judgments of our military commanders," according to Bush. Many of us must have missed the memo explaining how Bush, Cheney, and the rest of this administration aren't politicians anymore. We also missed the memo explaining how it was the "judgments of our military commanders" that sunk us into this mess to begin with.

Speaking of military judgments, here are two worth considering; both came after Bush deployed the veto pen on Tuesday.

Major General John Batiste, USA, Ret.: "The President vetoed our troops and the American people. His stubborn commitment to a failed strategy in Iraq is incomprehensible. He committed our great military to a failed strategy in violation of basic principles of war. His failure to mobilize the nation to defeat worldwide Islamic extremism is tragic. We deserve more from our commander-in-chief and his administration."

Major General Paul Eaton, USA, Ret: "This administration and the previously Republican-controlled legislature have been the most caustic agents against America's Armed Forces in memory. Less than a year ago, the Republicans imposed great hardship on the Army and Marine Corps by their failure to pass a necessary funding language. This time, the president of the United States is holding our soldiers hostage to his ego. More than ever apparent, only the Army and the Marine Corps are at war - alone, without their president's support."

When a Major General of the United States Army publicly declares that "the president of the United States is holding our soldiers hostage to his ego," matters have gone badly awry.

Speaking of badly awry, we also have this from Bush in explanation of his veto: "This is a prescription for chaos and confusion," he said, "and we must not impose it on our troops." More than one hundred US troops were killed in April; 3,352 have been killed since the war began; more than 20,000 troops have been wounded; untold tens of thousands of Iraqis have been slaughtered and maimed; hundreds of billions of dollars have been wasted and stolen; there is no functioning Iraqi government whatsoever; and Iraqi neighborhoods are ruled and ravaged by sectarian gangs waging a horrific civil war.

But that's not chaos and confusion. Not at all.

The response from Congressional Democrats was swift and damning. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) spoke of the vetoed bill by saying: "We had hoped the president would have treated it with the respect that bipartisan legislation supported overwhelmingly by the American people deserved. Instead, the president vetoed the bill outright and, frankly, misrepresented what this legislation does. This bill supports the troops. In fact, it gives the president more than he asked for our troops; they deserve it. They have done their duties excellently; they have done everything that has been asked of them, all of this without, in some cases, the training, the equipment and a plan for success for them."

"The president wants a blank check," continued Pelosi. "The Congress is not going to give it to him. The president said, in his comments, that he did not believe in timelines, and he spoke out very forcefully against them. Yet, in 1999, on June 5, then-Governor Bush said about President Clinton, 'I think it's also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn.' Despite his past statements, President Bush refuses to apply the same standards to his own activities. Standards: That's the issue. If the president thinks that what is happening on the ground in Iraq now is progress, as he said in his comments tonight, it is clear to see why we have a disagreement on policy with him."

Representative Barbara Lee (D-California) echoed Speaker Pelosi's sentiments by saying: "Rather than change course, the administration offers only increasingly desperate rhetoric about victory and surrender. The fact is that you cannot 'win' an occupation, just as there is no way for the United States to 'win' an Iraqi civil war. The American people get this. They recognize that this failed policy is making our nation and the world less safe, even if the Bush administration refuses to [admit it]. The American people are standing squarely behind us in our efforts to end the occupation of Iraq and to bring our troops home, and history will record the president's veto of those efforts with the same ridicule as it has his 'mission accomplished' remarks four years ago."

So that's that, for now. An attempt to override this veto may be in the offing, but will be extremely difficult to achieve. Another supplemental Iraq bill will be cobbled together, with contents as yet unknown.

And more will die tomorrow in Iraq - our soldiers and their civilians alike - tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow again, with no end in sight, because that end was vetoed by Bush on Tuesday afternoon. So it goes.



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William Rivers Pitt is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of two books: "War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know" and "The Greatest Sedition Is Silence." His newest book, "House of Ill Repute: Reflections on War, Lies, and America's Ravaged Reputation," is now available from PoliPointPress.

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Generals Denounce Bush Veto

From: Moira Mack, Americans Against Escalation in Iraq

Today the National Security Network released quotes from top military brass expressing outrage at the President's veto of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act.

Check it out at: National Security Network

Here is a taste:

The President vetoed our troops and the American people. His stubborn commitment to a failed strategy in Iraq is incomprehensible. He committed our great military to a failed strategy in violation of basic principles of war. His failure to mobilize the nation to defeat world wide Islamic extremism is tragic. We deserve more from our commander-in-chief and his administration.
--Maj. Gen. John Batiste, USA , Ret.

By vetoing this bill and failing to initiate an immediate and phased withdrawal, the President has effectively gone AWOL, deserting his duty post, leaving American forces with an impossible mission, suffering wholly unnecessary casualties."
--Lt. Gen. William E. Odom ( USA , Ret.)

Gen. William Odom radio address (Reagan's NSA Director)
4/28/07
Click link to listen in Windows Media


Lieutenant General William E. Odom, U.S. Army (Ret.) delivered the Democratic Radio Address this morning. General Odom has served as Director of the National Security Agency and Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, the Army's senior intelligence officer. In his address, General Odom discusses why he believes President Bush should sign the conference report on the Iraq Accountability Act.

Transcript

Good morning, this is Lieutenant General William E. Odom, U.S. Army, retired.
I am not now nor have I ever been a Democrat or a Republican. Thus, I do not speak for the Democratic Party. I speak for myself, as a non-partisan retired military officer who is a former Director of the National Security Agency. I do so because Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, asked me.

In principle, I do not favor Congressional involvement in the execution of U.S. foreign and military policy. I have seen its perverse effects in many cases. The conflict in Iraq is different. Over the past couple of years, the President has let it proceed on automatic pilot, making no corrections in the face of accumulating evidence that his strategy is failing and cannot be rescued.

Thus, he lets the United States fly further and further into trouble, squandering its influence, money, and blood, facilitating the gains of our enemies. The Congress is the only mechanism we have to fill this vacuum in command judgment.

To put this in a simple army metaphor, the Commander-in-Chief seems to have gone AWOL, that is 'absent without leave.' He neither acts nor talks as though he is in charge. Rather, he engages in tit-for-tat games.

Some in Congress on both sides of the aisle have responded with their own tits-for-tats. These kinds of games, however, are no longer helpful, much less amusing. They merely reflect the absence of effective leadership in a crisis. And we are in a crisis.

Most Americans suspect that something is fundamentally wrong with the President's management of the conflict in Iraq . And they are right.

The challenge we face today is not how to win in Iraq ; it is how to recover from a strategic mistake: invading Iraq in the first place. The war could never have served American interests.

But it has served Iran 's interest by revenging Saddam Hussein's invasion of Iran in the 1980s and enhancing Iran 's influence within Iraq . It has also served al Qaeda's interests, providing a much better training ground than did Afghanistan, allowing it to build its ranks far above the levels and competence that otherwise would have been possible.

We cannot 'win' a war that serves our enemies interests and not our own. Thus continuing to pursue the illusion of victory in Iraq makes no sense. We can now see that it never did.

A wise commander in this situation normally revises his objectives and changes his strategy, not just marginally, but radically. Nothing less today will limit the death and destruction that the invasion of Iraq has unleashed.
No effective new strategy can be devised for the United States until it begins withdrawing its forces from Iraq . Only that step will break the paralysis that now confronts us. Withdrawal is the pre-condition for winning support from countries in Europe that have stood aside and other major powers including India , China , Japan , Russia .

It will also shock and change attitudes in Iran, Syria, and other countries on Iraq's borders, making them far more likely to take seriously new U.S. approaches, not just to Iraq, but to restoring regional stability and heading off the spreading chaos that our war has caused.

The bill that Congress approved this week, with bipartisan support, setting schedules for withdrawal, provides the President an opportunity to begin this kind of strategic shift, one that defines regional stability as the measure of victory, not some impossible outcome.

I hope the President seizes this moment for a basic change in course and signs the bill the Congress has sent him. I will respect him greatly for such a rare act of courage, and so too, I suspect, will most Americans.

This is retired General Odom. Thank you for listening.



Is 'Funding' Really For Troops?
What Happened To Funding and Oversite For Military/Veteran Care In Previous Congresses?

We The People

Join John Edwards and people across the country in joining together to urge Congress to stand firm against President Bush.

Where Is The Money Going???

I'm getting ready for work so don't have time to put together all of what I would like to but this is another example of what is happening while we have Two Conflict Theaters Raging!!

What was going on in your Area's VA Hospital/Clinic while we had Two Theaters of Conflict Raging?

Bonuses paid amid area VA troubles
Top N.C. hospital officials got $335,000

The VA paid bonuses of more than $335,000 to some of its top N.C. hospital managers during years when they received reports of poor patient care and suspicious deaths.

Regional VA managers in Durham also received bonuses during that time. And they received bonuses as the Asheville veterans hospital struggled with staffing shortages that investigators found caused poor care. The Asheville nursing home unit also had been ordered in 2004 to suspend admissions after a patient died.

Here's an Archive report:

Coverage of VA hospital issues

BONUSES FOR VA OFFICIALS
VA executives in North Carolina received bonuses as the system's hospitals in Salisbury and Asheville struggled with patient care problems. Here are details:
2006
Total paid: $56,000
Who got money: Regional VA director Daniel Hoffmann ($24,000); regional chief medical officer Dr. Mark Shelhorse ($19,000); Salisbury VA hospital director Donald Moore* ($9,000); associate director James Robinson ($4,000).
Problems: Federal investigators found a Salisbury VA nurse failed to make required visits to veterans housed in private nursing homes from October 2003 through June 2006. The nurse, who remains with the hospital, also filed inaccurate medical reports on the veterans, including listing one as "stable" 12 days after he died.
2005
Total paid: $79,500
SNIP There's more than this example

It was only abit over 4months ago the new congress came into being. While All that we've been hearing, about Walter Reed and the VA System, Remember who had control over the purse strings, the oversite, and the investigative ability!

Keep in mind the corruption cases, we know about, between some of the peoples representative's and defense contractors!

Anyone running for office, and the Congress receiving the Vetoed Suplemental Back, keeping the above and the rest not only in mind but Start Asking The hard Questions: "What the Hell was going on while Maimed Military Personal were being shipped into the system of Care that this country affords to give those who Actually do the Sacrificing?"!!!!!!!!!

I have quite a few related reports and discussions, and will be re-doing the above along with the added material as time permits.

I Want these reports and the Corruption reports Front and Center in All the National Debates and the State Debates!

I want to see them in Political Ads!

Here in North Carolina I want All running against Hayes, Dole, Burr, and the rest of the states reps. to be Asking The Questions!!

And I want to know where Every Penny is going in these Supplemetals that the Idiot says are For The Troops, Defense and VA!!!

General Eaton's Letter to President Bush on Veto

May 1, 2007

Vote Vets

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

Today, in your veto message regarding the bipartisan legislation just passed on Operation Iraqi Freedom, you asserted that you so decided because you listen to your commanders on the ground.

Respectfully, as your former commander on the ground, your administration did not listen to our best advice. In fact, a number of my fellow Generals were forced out of their jobs, because they did not tell you what you wanted to hear -- most notably General Eric Shinseki, whose foresight regarding troop levels was advice you rejected, at our troops' peril.

The legislation you vetoed today represented a course of action that is long overdue. This war can no longer be won by the military alone. We must bring to bear the entire array of national power - military, diplomatic and economic. The situation demands a surge in diplomacy, and pressure on the Iraqi government to fix its internal affairs. Further, the Army and Marine Corps are on the verge of breaking - or have been broken already - by the length and intensity of this war. This tempo is not sustainable - and you have failed to grow the ground forces to meet national security needs. We must begin the process of bringing troops home, and repairing and growing our military, if we are ever to have a combat-ready force for the long war on terror ahead of us.

The bill you rejected today sets benchmarks for success that the Iraqis would have to meet, and puts us on a course to redeploy our troops. It stresses the need for sending troops into battle only when they are rested, trained and equipped. In my view, and in the view of many others in the military that I know, that is the best course of action for our security.

As someone who served this nation for decades, I have the utmost respect for the office you hold. However, as a man of conscience, I could not sit idly by as you told the American people today that your veto was based on the recommendations of military men. Your administration ignored the advice of our military's finest minds before, and I see no evidence that you are listening to them now.

I urge you to reconsider your position, and work with Congress to pass a bill that achieves the goals laid out above.

Respectfully,

Major General Paul D. Eaton, USA, Retired

50' 'MISSION ACCOMPLISHED' Banner Unfurled at White House

Americans Against Escalation in Iraq


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Jeremy Funk, (202) 263-4576
DATE: April 30, 2007

Mission Accomplished?
Click here to see a Video and pictures from today's event







Iraq War Vet, Concerned Citizens Unfurl Replica of Infamous "Mission Accomplished" banner in Front of White House Today on Eve of Speech Bush Gave May 1, 2003 Declaring an End to the War

Click here to see a Video and pictures from today's event

Click here to view 'Major' the ad being run now noting the fourth anniversary of the speech and calling on Bush to sign bill to end the war

Washington D.C. -- Americans United for Change and Americans Against Escalation in Iraq held an event in front of the White House today, noting the fourth anniversary of President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech and calling on President Bush to sign legislation which will be sent to him tomorrow to wind down the war in Iraq. Members in attendance held up a replica of the "Mission Accomplished" banner (with a question mark) which was displayed behind President Bush on the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1st, 2003 when he declared the war in Iraq over and that U.S. and coalition forces had prevailed.
"Four years after President Bush said the war was over, four years after he stood before the banner 'Mission Accomplished' on the USS Abraham Lincoln and four years into a tortured and failed policy in Iraq - U.S. forces are still caught in the crosshairs of a civil war with no end in sight," said Brad Woodhouse of Americans United for Change. "While President Bush stubbornly refuses to change course in Iraq, four years after his infamous address where he strutted arrogantly across the deck of aircraft carrier, the Congress has offered him a plan which would hold the Iraqi's accountable and begin to wind down the war and get our troops out of harm's way. Four years after his failure to lead, President Bush should follow the wisdom of Congress, sign the bill and wind down U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq. If he does not, he will live up to the notion that this is the will of one nation versus the stubbornness of one man."
Alan Charney with USAction - a founding partner of Americans Against Escalation in Iraq - led a solemn ceremony which included remarks from Jonathan Powers, an Iraq war veteran, and a prayer offered by the Reverend Anthony J. Motley, President of the Greater Washington Council of Churches. l the speakers called on Bush to sign legislation to begin to wind down the war - legislation he has vowed to veto. At the end the crowd chanted solemnly "sign the bill, sign the bill."

**********

And Don't Forget:

Breaking: White House News Release

This "Breaking White House News Release" is a Great Catch by our friend Betty Bowers over at 'The No Sin Zone' at Jesus Land who is always very attentive to what is going on as she saves the souls every minute of our troubled days.

Give Betty a visit and help her make this a better world. Signup for her Newsletters so you wouldn't miss a beat as she passes on the important work being done and the news it brings {Hell it's better than any MSM outlet, whoops I said a naughty word!}

Word has it, out of the ever growing thicker skinned bubble surrounding the White House area, as they romp with their needed massages {wink wink}, that this Press Release was one of the last acts of one 'Monica' {if your name is Monica the federal government is not where you want to apply for a job, unless you seek your 15mins and have a specialty nitch} who as a good christian young lady, that can't sin by telling a lie, told Congress she'd plead the fifth, and get forgiveness for the sinful actions she might have done, just like that, heaven bound No Problem.

Done under the tutelage of some short chubby bald guy who uses the handle 'the rovie' in their e-mail exchanges.

OK now to the 'Breaking News'

Tens of Bush Supporters Take to the Streets

Four loyal Americans from Freerepublic.com break the will of 850,000 peacenik protesters with their spirited invective.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A PRESS RELEASE PROVIDED AS A PUBLIC SERVICE BY THE WHITE HOUSE

While this nation's pansy assed, love bead wearing liberal media delighted in reporting this weekend's sad spectacle of millions of hippie communists loitering on streets throughout the world to show their support for America-hating terrorists, there is another, more important story that was not reported to the American people. To rectify this intentional oversight, the White House Press office has prepared this "information release" to give heart to all those who love President Bush enough to go along with killing any man, woman and little baby for whom he has a smart-bomb surprise up his sleeve.

[NOTE TO FOX NEWS: Start TelePrompTer here]

Over the weekend, throngs in numbers approaching almost 80 people worldwide took to the streets to provide a poignant counterpoint to the fringe-position presented by over 6,000,000 anti-war protesters. Enjoying a courteous distance from one another that was eschewed by the dense crowd of America-hating cowards that filled the streets, sometimes almost a baker's dozen of counter-protesters gathered on street corners and otherwise desolate gas stations in some of America's larger medium-size towns and villages. They came to taunt the Saddam-loving anti-war vermin with placards that tended to dispense with all the geo-political mumbo-jumbo and cut to the heart of the matter by lobbing personal attacks on the traitors who are rude enough to disagree with our blameless President.


As counter-protester Wanda Jenkins pointed out: "Our boys in the armed services didn't give up their lives so these parasites of freedom could go around openly questioning our godly President. They'd all be speaking German right now it wasn't for us and then almost nobody on CNN could even read their silly signs in English. There were about 150,000 America-haters that walked by me with their stupid Osama-loving signs about peace and stuff. I yelled back at them 'Ya pack of light-in-the-loafers socialists!' You should have seen the look on their faces. I mean to say, that really showed them! I couldn't wait to get back to my computer to tell the gang at Free Republic about my victory over the dirty Libs!"

The national counter-protest was organized by FreeRepublic.Com, a gathering place for people unwavering in their starry-eyed devotion to the infallibility of Mr. and Mrs. George W. Bush. Called "Operation Infinite Freep," the effort was a glorious success, surprising even the most staunch "Freepers" {a clever nickname adopted by the even more clever inhabitants of the implacably loyal, not-afriad-to-gush GOP fan website}.

"You know, when you are sitting in your BVDs and holster before breakfast, reading hundreds of posts that say exactly what you had typed late last night, it is a real affirmation knowing that there are so many people who don't question the same things you don't," said Felix Willinghouse. "But to see almost five of my fellow Freepers care enough about what they are typing to actually show up to shout down the peacenik jerks was a real rush. I haven't been this choked up since my seven-year-old bludgeoned an effigy of Janet Reno with his scooter on our front lawn during all that mess over that little commie Cuban boy."

Billy "Bronco" Johnson cries tears of pride when he realizes that he is the only Freeper in Witchita Falls who loves George W. Bush enough to show up for the counter-protest.
"It is clear to me that all of those peaceniks are just damned communists," observed Rhonda Jones on a chilly Columbia, Missouri street corner. "Because that's what communists are always doing – protesting. Just look at those folks in Russia and Chinaland. Protesting their governments all the time. Not a bit of gratitude in any of them. You sort of expect that from filthy foreigners, but here in America, we are a democracy and we don't go in for that type of trouble making and back talk. If you've got a problem with our country's government, then you can exercise your freedom as a American and buy an ticket on Delta and get your ass the Hell out of Dodge."


"I've been posting on Free Republic for about three years now, so I'm not real used to hearing opinions I don't already agree with," said counter-protester and patriot Daryl Hoshnicker. "If a fellow Freeper posts something that don't toe the line then they are thougthful enough to add a "BARF ALERT" warning so the rest of us know not to like it. So it took me a while to stop yelling 'DITTO!' whenever those dang protesters was saying stuff. But as soon as I realized they was not giving 120% support to the most perfect president in American history, George W. Bush, my wife Dixie and I was darned angry we had done left the pistols in the Taurus. Free speech was bought with guns. And it can be silenced with them when it goes too far. Praise the Lord!"

Tonya Watkins holds up her soggy "Let's Roll" sign moments before Lisa Beamer rolled up in her foundation's limousine and demanded a $50 payment for the use of the trademarked term.

Show your support for our president with a Betty Bowers bumper sticker!

With the Stamp Of Approval of:

And:


Hey I just had to pass this Important Breaking News on, wouldn't you!!!