Robert Gates, the Secretary of Defense, an exception in a rotten administration

Perhaps the new secretary of defense Robert Gates will be an exception to this Chaney –Bush administration that is rotten to the core.
Firing the Secretary of the Army should be the first step in cleaning house. No one could believe that our wounded soldiers have to live through all of this neglect and humiliation when they are only few miles from both the White House and the Pentagon. No one could believe that the president and his vice-president and senior administration officials both at the White House and at the Pentagon did not know what was going on, never bothered to see how the wounded are treated and how they live, given the very poor records of all veteran administration hospitals. Walter Reed was the place to be for the wounded, if this is the case at Walter Reed, one has to imagine what the other army hospitals look like.
Shortly after my honorable discharge from the US Army back in 68, I had the opportunity to visit couple of the veteran hospitals in both Chicago and in Tampa. Frankly there was nothing to write home about, with scenes like from Jack Nicholson movie, “ Birds who flew over the cuckoo’s nest” absolutely appalling and disgusting with wounded treated like hell.
It seems that nothing has changed in the treatment of wounded and injured soldiers from the days of the Vietnam War. It seems that for this administration, like Democratic and Republican administrations before ,the wounded soldiers are like scrap metal from the battlefield, to be discarded like rotten meat. They are no longer useful and are easily dispenses with.
What is not so surprising is the absolute and total silence of the representative of veterans’ organizations who should have been the first to expose the scandal and not leaving it to the Washington Post (thank you) to tell the true story and expose the incompetence, negligence and corruption at our veteran hospitals. Perhaps it is time for these organization to get out of bed with the administration and go out and do what they supposed to do in the first place, represent the membership and speak out on behalf of those who have no voice in this administration, the wounded, injured and active soldiers.
With all due respect to Joe Davis, the spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, his organization should have been in the forefront on this issue and should have been closely monitoring the conditions at Walter Reed hospital, After all the wars has been going on for over 5 years now with tens of thousands wounded. How could someone like vice-president Dick Chaney who declared at one time that he “has better things to do” than join the US military during the Vietnam War, can give an explanation to what has been going on, when both he and president George Bush did not think of or bother to see what was going on at Walter Reed which is only few miles away.
It seems that organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars that are in bed with this administration are more interested in politics and advancing the cause of the war than taking care of and being guardians of the interests of those who made the sacrifice for the nation. When such organizations are in bed with such an administration it is difficult to believe they have the independence to speak out for an on behalf of the tens of thousands of wounded soldiers. One has to agree with the assessment of both Congressman Jim Moran and Congressman John Murtha when they stated that this was going on for 6 years now and those responsible should have been aware of it.
Never understand what a White House commission will and can do. It is only a make over, a way to cover up the mildew and rotten wood that covers this administration.
Thank you Secretary Gates, perhaps you can set the pace for this administration for accountability and transparency. Perhaps you should take your courage and transparency further and make all of the defense contractors accountable for their robbery and fleecing of the nation and taxpayers. It is so great to have someone like Secretary Robert Gates in charge of the Pentagon. Perhaps we can see a difference since George Bush and Dick Chaney came to town. Perhaps the message of accountability can also be heard all over 270, 66, 495 and Dulles Toll Road. It is too bad that this administration, which is asking all of us to make the ultimate sacrifice, does not give a damn about all those who pay the high price of fighting their stupid war, and treat them with such neglect. But then for someone like Dick Chaney, they are dispensing cartages. Throw the bastards in the dump. They are alive and are costing us lots of money. It is cheaper to give them a small blot at Arlington National Cemetery. We need the money to give to our friends the defense and security contractors who are generous with their lobbying money.