Speaking on the Veterans Day weekend, the former U.S. military commander in the Middle East said “President Bush has consistently refused to provide enough” money for veterans’ health care.
“Earlier this year, his administration admitted that they were $1 billion short in funding for critical health care services,” he said. “They also repeatedly tried to increase the cost of prescription drugs and health care services for veterans nationwide.”
Hoar also said, “Thousands of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan will require mental health care, yet the Bush administration has not taken action to deal with this emerging problem.”
“As a veteran and a former commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, I have seen first hand the kind of sacrifices they are making for us. It’s a debt we will never be able to repay,” he said. “But we have a special duty to make sure our veterans receive the benefits they have earned and deserve when they return home.”
How can you expect any support for vets from politicos who don’t even count vets among their cronies?
An amazing statement on CNN by the newscaster right at the moment that that Cheney was placing the wreath during Veterans day celebrations (left my girfriend and me open-mouthed and astonished.) I paraphrase because I don’t remember the exact words:
“Cheney is not a veteran himself because he never served in the military, but he is a ‘veteran’ of several deferments during the Vietnam war. He does have a military history as secretary of defense, and also as the main intelligence coordinator during the buildup for the Iraq war.”
Trusth is that to the leaders of the country, individual military personnel are just pawns on the chessboard. Obviously Cheney and Rumsfeld see them that way and they have absolutely no regard for them once they usefulness has been expended. They couldn’t care less about veterans, about honoring the fallen or helping those that have made sacrifices.
Frankly I’m surprised thet the military brass puts up with this BS. Collin Powell could have been a leader in this area, instead he quietly sits there and ponders his failures. Such a disappointment.
George W. Bush is a small, petty man propelled forward by wealth he didn’t even earn. In his mind he believes he’s a great defender of democracy, a war time leader of the stature of Churchill. I well know of Churchills’ shortcomings, but he won his war .Normally I’m a tad more diplomatic, but I grow so weary of these SOB’s
Quick political science lesson. The President does not appropriate money to run the government, the congress does does. If you want to blame anyone blame the Senators and Congressman who are more worried about funding their own pet projects and not giving enough for the vets.
As much as I’d like to bash the duhbya, America has been short changing vets since the revolutionary war.
to gquaglia: The prez may not set the budget directly, but he does set the priorities. One of his priorities is the use of military force for change in the world, and he has pushed mightily for the support of this policy. The fact that he does not push at all for support of the people that he directly uses to enforce his policies is very telling of the man and his interest in the people that serve him. He couldn’t care less about the common person, the common soldier, or anyone that does not directly/indirectly support his governance. And that is the grreatest problem with his regime… he has surrounded himself with people that want the same that he does, and in the eyes of many his wants and priorities are all wrong.
to “sounds the Alarm”: two wrongs don’t make a right. Just because Veterans have been neglected in the past does not mean that we have to excuse the present person in charge from doing the right thing. And he complaint really isn’t that he isn’t doing enough, it is that he is intentionally doing LESS than his predecesors. He should be bashed, because his is using the military yet neglecting it at the same time. That just plain sucks and is worthy of bashing.
I watched that placing of the wreath. Cheney didn’t even really do it! He just lightly touched it while a soldier did the lifting. It struck me as symbolic.
Seems like that newscaster was very biased. The VA should probably be largely eliminated. They spend too much on the administration and not on the veterans. Give them generous health insurance instead.
I’ve read a few articles in the past about how the VA was spending money on administrative costs like fire stations at hospitals, and big offices. Sen. McCain is always complaining about the VA, so he doesn’t seem to think it’s so great.