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01/04/2006: Bush spanked for his insensitivity....
Well, at least it doesn't surprise me. Anyone who can joke about the whole WMD search thing doesn't have the sense not to joke about combat injuries. From Larry Johnson:
At first I thought this was a blog parody. I mean, really, no one could be this clueless. Right? Boy, was I wrong. Here's what President Bush had to say at Brooke Army Medical Center the other day. Remember, he is visiting U.S. soldiers who are missing arms, legs, and eyes. Some soldiers are horribly mutilated from wounds suffered in Iraq. Most of the soldiers Bush visited were not "injured", they were "wounded". You get wounds in combat. You get injured while playing football or cutting brush. This is not just mindless nitpicking on my part. This demonstrates a Commander-in-Chief out of touch with the reality of combat.Well said, Mr. Johnson.
Click here: President Visits Troops at Brooke Army Medical Center
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/01/20060101.html
...
The president needs to understand what combat means. It is not tangling with a chain saw and some prickly pear brush. It involves firearms and explosives. It means watching your best friend bleed out on the battlefield. It means mind numbing fear as you prepare to enter a building that may or may not be providing refuge for a terrorist. It means killing other human beings. And for some, it leaves an emotional scar that the brave soldiers carry with them to their grave.
More importantly the President needs to understand that he now has a sacred obligation to ensure that the men and women wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan will have the full backing of their country to provide them with the medical care they need to recover their physical and mental well being. Instead, Bush talks a good game at the hospital but is not removing obstacles for key treatment for a variety of wounds, including post-traumatic stress syndrome. Key benefits and treatment are already being denied to some returning vets.
There is a silver lining, at least the President did not award himself a purple heart. But this attempt at humor, no matter how well intentioned, is offensive and insulting to the soldiers who have sacrificed their bodies in response to the orders of this Commander-in-Chief. That, in my view, is no laughing matter.
Len on 01.04.06 @ 12:33 PM CST
