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The Government That Fails Them
By haystack Posted in Congress | Iraq Funding | veterans — Comments (32) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
The problem with our Government is not Democrats or Republicans, per se, but with the collective need to do whatever it takes to get and keep power. This never-ending opportunistic positioning on issues, with little regard for any who might suffer from the effects, fails all of "we the People" and the Government should be ashamed of itself...though we have a better chance of finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow than ever seeing sincere humility and embarrassment come from any of our Political Heroes in Washington.
The political football that is Iraq is being as poorly handled as any issue in my memory, and our Warfighters and Veterans (those we should most concern ourselves with) are being failed on almost every level. I blame the President. I blame the Department of Defense. I blame Veterans Affairs. Most of all, I blame Congress. While most of these issues with Soldiers and Veterans lie squarely in the lap of the DoD and the VA, Congress owns the lion's share of blame for not fixing this mess because they hold the checkbook and they aren't doing what needs doing: writing the damn checks.
Let's start with the New York Times piece, The Suffering of Soldiers:
Several years into a pair of wars, the Department of Veterans Affairs is struggling to cope with a task for which it was tragically unready: the care of soldiers who left Afghanistan and Iraq with an extra burden of brain injury and psychic anguish. The last thing they need is the toxic blend of secrecy, arrogance and heedlessness that helped to send many of them into harm’s way.
Quick cheap shot at the President aside, the NYT's Editorial board is on to something. But, before we look at the rest of this "opinion" piece, let's pile on a few more things for emphasis.
More below the fold...
First, consider the now-very-forgotten story of Walter Reed and Building 18 and the suffering of Soldiers there. Recall that President Bush promised a commission to review Military Health Care in the wake of that story, and a report from the so-called Dole-Shalala commission was issued. Anything implemented from that one yet? Not that I can find.
Consider as well the Ft. Bragg barracks disaster and the standard issue gasps of shock and outrage from the guy who OWNS it to begin with: SecDef Gates himself.
A cursory run through the news yesterday brings a story of Soldiers being cremated at a facility used for pets. It's no wonder people are screaming...a freaking pet crematorium being used for our fallen Heroes, and the Military isn't sure if this place is doing these cremations appropriately? What the bloody hell is wrong with this bureaucracy?
The President asked for the Iraq supplemental funding well over a year ago. The Democrats have finally come up with a disaster in response, and in an op-ed this morning Alabama Rep. Jo Bonner details the bloat lying in wait within it. The bill is a joke and the Democrats are well aware the President will have no choice but to veto this trash and the Warfighters and Veterans will continue to wait.
Congress was told by Adm. Mullen that the Army is almost out of money. Of course, Harry Reid could give a flip, given that he's already said it's no big deal [subscription], but if the Army runs out of money how can anyone expect the Soldiers and Veterans to get the care they need? They're about to lose their paychecks...how are they going to get treatment for the suffering the original Times piece above suggests they so desperately need?
Consider the last passage in the NYT piece:
Fortunately, the solutions are clear: more money for mental health services, closer tracking of suicides and more aggressive preventive efforts, more efficiency at managing veterans’ treatment and more help for their families. If this country gave back to wounded troops even a fraction of the commitment and service that it has received from them, they will be well cared for.
Why is this so hard for Congress to comprehend?
In the piece titled "The Costs of War" from the WaPo, dollars and cents make up the whole discussion about Iraq. With all of Schumer and Reid's ranting and raving...and calling President Bush "King George"...nowhere is there a mention of what MORE the Army can do about the problems it's Warfighters and Veterans face were these clowns to draft a bill the President can actually sign. They are clearly more concerned with the constituencies they can buy off...and with shoring up majorities and expanding them. They are there to do the people's business, not muck up our lives and CERTAINLY not to destroy the lives of our Soldiers and their families, yet that is exactly what they continue to do.
They fail us all.
Well said NightTwister...and agreed <n/t>
by haystack
Iustum et tenacem propositi virum non civium ardor prava iubentium, non vultus instantis tyranni mente quatit solida.
-Quintus Horatius Flaccus
What Pejman (I believe)
by PhxG
What Pejman (I believe) posted earlier this week is why I believe people continue to vote these incompetent fools into office: "America is at the Mall".
_____________________________
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
Post Iraq hangover
by SteveLA
haystack
There's an even more frighting hangover from the war in Iraq about two, three years after we start to reduce our foot print in the country.
The war in Iraq, the desert environment and the tempo of the war has chewed up a good deal of material in direct combat operations, and worn the edges off of a lot more. I've read some estimates of the bill for replacing equipment is in the Billions of dollar range and nobody is talking about where the money to fix that problem is coming from.
I suppose the question of funding for replenishing our armed forces at some point in the future is one of the reasons I would never vote for any Democrat now. Republican leadership will do the right thing, Democrats will leave us with yet another hollow force ill prepared for the future,
Taking a page from history, Jimmy Carter and his extremely poor handling of the readiness of US forces post Viet Nam was only corrected by Reagan's rebuilding program of the early 80's. To think any Liberal will put the money into a program to rebuild our military post Iraq is just scary if history is any judge.
This upcoming election is an important one about the future of our armed forces, and not just the war in Iraq.
______________________________________
Proud member of the Barry Goldwater wing of the party !
Great point Steve
by simpson316
Another one of the great fears that I have for an Obama presidency is just this. He will repeat the gutting of our military that the two prior D administrations have done.
Now also found at The Minority Report
Not that I think
by SteveLA
simpson
I think it will be more like benign neglect instead of a frontal assault. Think back to Jimmy Carter as your frame of reference and not Slick Willy. Carter was not so much anti-military as incompetent and consumed with other problems. Slick was openly anti military. I think Obama would be more of the former than the latter.
______________________________________
Proud member of the Barry Goldwater wing of the party !
Or?
by simpson316
More likely and: incompetent and anti-military.
The best of both worlds.
Now also found at The Minority Report
No indicators of that
by SteveLA
simpson
A bit of reach to claim that Obama is a classical liberal anti defense kind of pol, despite the push from the Kos Kids. Besides, elected Republicans may be lacking in some unifying set issues, I doubt Obama would serve that big a softball pitch that would give them one.
______________________________________
Proud member of the Barry Goldwater wing of the party !
Do you not remember the Youtube
by simpson316
video that was front paged here on RS? It contained a litany of things that would very much place Obama in the anti-defense kind of pol pool.
Now also found at The Minority Report
Two points,
by Jeff Emanuel
(1) This is only a "pair of wars" to the media and to those who would deny the global war against jihad and terrorism. What Iraq and Afghanistan are -- and officially so, as each has an "Operation" name, signifying their being role-players in a larger effort -- is individual fronts of a single war -- the Global War on Terrorism.
(2) Look very closely at all of the issues with the "military" and "veterans" health care systems.
This is government-run health care at its finest. Yaaaay, socialized medicine! Somehow the NYT fails to make that connection when it denounces the current gov't health care we have in this country, while clamoring for more.
Exactly right Jeff
by simpson316
I get confronted every day by people who say that they can't wait for universal health care. I just ask them if they know any veterans. And if they know anything about the VA system. Makes a lot of people think again.
Now also found at The Minority Report
That's because it's not the system that's at fault.
by NightTwister
The only problem with socialized medicine is that it just hasn't been tried by the right people yet.
/snark
I know I don't. I just don't have the personality to deal with at best disgusting people from the press asking idiotic questions 24/7. I also don't feel like having my driving record, my credit car purchases and perhaps my internet viewing habits become public knowledge.
Seeing as I would run as a Republican. I could really do without the press just making stuff up about everyone in my family and myself.
So while the Democrats may have sub contracted the design of their primaries to Rube Goldberg, we as a nation have outsourced our electoral process to the Marquis De Sade.So we get people who want it badly enough to go through it. I'd say being willing to go through our current election process should be an automatic disqualifier.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
55555555555555
by Jeff Emanuel
I get looked at as though I have a...well, you know....growing out of my head when I say that last, but I can't help it -- I think that way.
If somebody *wants* to be in office, in power, etc., then that's the person I want *farthest* away from that position that I can keep them.
Jaded? Yes. Cynical? Hell yes. Realistic? I can't help but believe so.
Jeff,
would you say the same
by PhxG
Jeff,
would you say the same for a person at the local level?
_____________________________
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
I think there
by Xraxnd Caracarn
Are some who are willing to do the job because it needs to be done and are willing to put up with the $%^$.
Saddly those folks are way behind the 8-ball because they are either super rich or just dont have the funds. And nobody belives them anyway because the concept of a good and honest pol is so unbeliveable.
ALWAYS room to mention the MAN...heh :-) <n/t>
by haystack
Iustum et tenacem propositi virum non civium ardor prava iubentium, non vultus instantis tyranni mente quatit solida.
-Quintus Horatius Flaccus
I never understood why that counted against him n/t
by Joliphant
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
..that you didn't hear much about in the R primaries about Fred.
It's what we call "fire in the belly." The rest of us are on near-lethal doses of Tums because Fred didn't have it in sufficient quantities.
It is amazing
by simpson316
and this year isn't the only example. We have seen a lot of well-qualified candidates run out of the system because they "didn't want it enough".
We may never have our best and brightest in office just because of the situation that you (and I for now) want to avoid.
Now also found at The Minority Report
J-man...not only no, but HELL no...<n/t>
by haystack
Iustum et tenacem propositi virum non civium ardor prava iubentium, non vultus instantis tyranni mente quatit solida.
-Quintus Horatius Flaccus
I Once Ran for Public Office
by Whitehorse
Local Alderman in my little town. I came in 5th out of 5, which is better than 6th! 140 people voted for me, while the winners received about 200 votes (2 seats). It was a great experience that I will likely never do again.
Even on such a local, small level, it was exhausting - especially done while working full-time. I'm not saying I'm that great, however, I would have been a very effective Alderman & was running for the right reasons. It is hard to get good people to run for office, especially for anything State Rep. level on up. It's "funny" to recount some of the BS reasons people give when they tell you they're voting for the political hack instead of the good person running for the right reasons. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't get good people to run - those good people WILL run if they have the support needed to run a competitive & possibly successful race.
Funny I have only held two elected positions
by Joliphant
Not governmental and each time I got elected because (At least to my perspective) the voters thought I was the wrong guy. In retrospect I delivered to them what they wanted from their representation.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
Congress @ Valley Forge, Congress Now. Same old,
by streetwise
same old.
Sigh.
LTNixon outlines the consequences in this money graph:
The politicization of the war has mostly been directed at the “neocons” (an undesirable label that is now morally akin to the Hitler Youth), but it can even explain how Hillary failed to win the Democratic primary, as Publius at Obsidian Wings explains. Whoever gets the proverbial “Iraq war” necklace hung around their neck is most likely to be characterized as a nuisance or evil for decades to come. This has terrible ramifications for Iraq vets and other personnel who have served in the military during these troubled times, as the Iraq war’s architects will retire to castles invisible in the public eye, but us vets will be amongst the general populace representing an endeavor Americans will resent. Take your pick on why the Iraq war has taken so long, been so costly, or how we shouldn’t have even started it, but we must deal with reality now or we could end up in a very poor position in our future society.
The failure lies not simply in the political class, but in the voters that allow this to happen.
This will not cease until the people believe that they have a stake in their army again.
Bring back the draft.
"History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it"-Winston Churchill
Not on your life
by sinz52
I would accept bringing back the draft only on one condition: It is accompanied by a Constitutional Amendment which forces the President to get a Congressional declaration of war for every military action in any new theater of war lasting longer than six months time. And such a declaration of war to automatically sunset after two years unless renewed by another vote of Congress.
I'm sick and tired of a President making war all around the world at his own discretion. No oversight, no checks and balances. And now you want to force Americans into service so that we can't even opt out of this notion? No thank you.
You would NOT be making that suggestion if Al Gore had been president these last 7 years, I'll bet.
In 1980, Ronald Reagan said flatly he opposed a peacetime draft as involuntary servitude. I agreed with him.
These days, far too many conservatives have fallen in love with presidential power and presidential prerogatives just because "their guy," Bush, was running the show. These conservatives have become almost fascist in their infatuation with unchecked executive power ostensibly for national security. I suggest that 10 or 15 years of living under a Democrat president may serve to change their minds about this.
From the Federalist Papers and the Constitution, it's clear that Congress, not the President, was supposed to decide if and when to go to war. That authority was steadily eroded during the Cold War, because it was feared that a surprise bomber or missile attack in the nuclear age might wipe out America before the President had a chance to respond. But global thermonuclear wars would never last more than six months anyway.
give the total authority but instead some wishy-washy version of authority than the elected President of the United States and Commander in Chief with the aforementioned wishy-washy authority will make the decision...and rightly so!
WOW unchecked executive power....paulite?
Their guy Bush? hmmm might I remind you that President Bush won the election with more than the conservative vote 52.8 percent of the electorate to be exact...
With regards to a draft...NO WAY...the military does not want a draft because they have willing volunteers who by the way are the best and bravest of our nation. The technologies that are utilized in today's military require a much more serious commitment than those who are "forced" into service would give.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/07recruiting.htm
Freedom of Religion not Freedom from Religion
"get a Congressional
by PhxG
"get a Congressional declaration of war for every military action"
You have just ended all US involvement in EVERY military conflict short of an invasion of the mainland**. Nobel peace prize to you.
** Depending on the mix of congress, it is possible that a declaration of roll over and die would be passed.
_____________________________
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
If Al Gore had been president...
by From ME to you
'these last seven years' we would be looking forward to the release of the report concerning what our appropriate response should be to the 9-11 attack!
Reinstate the draft? No way. The military doesn't need people who don't want to be there. 'Draftees' require an inordinate amount of supervision for the amount of work they accomplish. Two volunteers can accomplish the same amount of work with no supervision as 10 draftees with supervision.
Regarding your last paragraph: What do you propose as a solution? Maybe Congress should be in session 24/7/365 so that if a decision is required it can be done, after many hours of debate and deliberation of course, at a moments notice!!
si vis pacem para bellum
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People keep electing these idiots. Why do they expect they will suddenly grow a conscience and do the right thing?
The military is the one area in government that does actually need more money, but as you say they need to increase accountability significantly, or people will simply ignore their pleas.
Night Twister
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