|
TheSequitur.com Editorial Board
March 8, 2007
We never once thought we’d have to admonish the U.S. government to support the troops, until now.
The situation at Walter Reed dishonors those whom are willing to sacrifice their lives for freedom.Despite differences in opinion among the members of this Board regarding America’s military conflicts, we all thought one thing was clear to everyone: the state has a moral duty to do all in its power to ensure the health of those who fight for its citizens’ freedom before, during and after the battle.
We thought wrong. That duty is not at all clear to the Bush administration.
The virtually immediate resignations, congressional hearings and executive action in response to the Washington Post’s exposure of miserable conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center are evidence that the some in the U.S. government know, at least with hindsight, that they have failed America’s heroes in a profound and troublesome way. Story continues below...
 Cartoon by Andy Marlette/AndyMarlette.com
According to the Post, one part of the Walter Reed complex “often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.” The chorus of resignations, the clatter of congressional hearings and “no fewer than eight overlapping investigations, commissions, task forces and study groups” began following these exposures and many others by the Post.
The situation at Walter Reed dishonors those whom are willing to sacrifice their lives for freedom. Unfortunately, it also is yet another example of this Administration’s disappointing series of domestic, diplomatic and military miscalculations.
The state has a moral duty to do all in its power to ensure the health of those who fight for its citizens’ freedom before, during and after the battle.New Orleans remains a mess, Osama bin Laden is still on the loose, the Taliban is resurging in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda is regrouping in Pakistan and Iraq is circling the drain. American moral influence has waned after allegations of torture, the revocation of habeas corpus and the revelations of government eavesdropping, data mining and secret CIA prisons. Our troops were sent to Iraq without an adequate plan, adequate supplies, adequate leadership or, apparently, adequate health care.
Many of these problems could obviously be bumps along the road to successes that haven’t happened yet. But, when it comes to medical care for our troops, they deserve the most competent, cutting edge and hygienic health care available.
What is shocking is that some need to be reminded of that.
[Washington Post No. 1, Washington Post No. 2, Washington Post No. 3, Image - Walter Reed Army Medical Center]
Editorial Board Member-at-Large Vish Mehta did not participate in this editorial. Senior Editor Dwayne Robinson abstains from all staff editorials. |
Conclusions 
