Walter Reed is the Symptom, Not the Disease

My grandfather served in the Navy during the Korean War. My father followed in his footsteps after he graduated high school, and was on a ship near Beirut in the early 1980s. He came home without a scratch, but for years had nightmares about his friends who weren't so lucky. Will, a guy who graduated high school with my younger brother, enlisted in the Army and served in the current war in Iraq. He came home with a chunk of shrapnel in his leg that earned him a place among the fortunate ones.

All three of them performed their duties nobly. They didn't torture prisoners or murder civilians. They were like the hundreds of thousands of other men and women who are serving with honor in the U.S. military right now. They had more guts and character than I ever thought about having. They deserve better.

I'm not talking only about the recent revelation of dilapidated living quarters and other neglectful conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. That's the scandal of the moment, the thing to be angry about this month, but it's only a sign of a much larger problem. The men and women of the armed forces have been neglected and brazenly exploited by the government they volunteered to kill and die for, especially in the four years since the start of the current war in Iraq.

In 2003 the Pentagon intended to cut combat pay of soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and only abandoned the plan when it was leaked to the media and military families expressed their outrage.

According to an article published in the New York Times in January 2006, 80% of marines killed in Iraq from upper body wounds could have survived had they been equipped with adequate body armor. The necessary armor is available, but the Pentagon is "reluctant" to supply it.

The Veterans Administration estimates that on any given night 200,000 veterans of the American military are homeless. Of these, 67% served for at least three years; 33% served in a war zone. By its own admission, the VA only serves 100,000 of these homeless vets per year.

And then there is the disgrace of Walter Reed, where veterans of the Iraq war, many of whom are missing limbs or suffering from other serious physical or emotional trauma, have been coping with unqualified or overworked staff, and living in rotting, vermin-infested barracks.

Yet, while all this has been going on, it is the President and the Vice President who have crowed the loudest and proudest about our fine, brave troops. We have the finest army in the world, we are told, and should all be grateful for their valor. If you love your freedom, thank a vet, they exhort us. Our magnificent soldiers, sailors and marines have formed the backdrop to many a patriotic speech. They have sat and listened and dutifully applauded when our leaders commend them for their service and promise that their sacrifices shall not have been in vain.

It's the men and women in the White House and the Capitol who remind us of the bravery of the troops at every possible opportunity who have done them the gravest dishonor. I wonder how these people can sleep at night, knowing how many soldiers, sailors and marines have died because of their policies, and how many more have returned home maimed only to find the expert medical care they were promised when they signed up isn't there.

Now the Bush administration pleads ignorance while the Democrats in Congress scream their outrage. I wonder how much suffering could have been prevented had even one of these men or women-our elected leaders-deigned to visit the vets at Walter Reed for any purpose beyond a photo op. Furious Democrats like John Kerry and Chuck Schumer are quick to blame Bush's Defense Department for the situation. They are only half-right. The responsibility was theirs as well, and they are just as guilty as those they accuse.

Remember that the next time some member of Congress is on TV blathering about the shameful treatment of our heroic and splendid troops. This is what happens when the empowered detach themselves from the powerless. They all live in glass houses. None of them are blameless.