Furor at Walter Reed spawns probes, attacks
WASHINGTON -- Deficiencies in outpatient care for wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center have triggered an array of investigations and given Democrats new ammunition to attack the Bush administration.
President Bush's weekly radio address focused on the issue yesterday, as did the Democratic response.
Bush used his speech to formally announce the creation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the care given to wounded service personnel and to express concern over substandard conditions at Walter Reed.
"This is unacceptable to me, it is unacceptable to our country, and it's not going to continue," Bush said. "This country has a moral obligation to provide our servicemen and women with the best possible care and treatment."
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who was chosen to give the Democratic response, said the situation at the Washington facility was completely unacceptable, and called for immediate action to rectify it.
"Soldiers with brain injuries have gone weeks without being able to get doctors' appointments," Lieberman said. "There is not enough staff with the right skills to treat and care for the severely injured troops. And rooms where some soldiers lived were found to be moldy and infested with rodents."
The radio speeches were made one day after Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey resigned and two days after the commanding general of Walter Reed, Major General George W. Weightman, was relieved of command.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced the departure of Harvey, 63, on Friday and made clear it was directly connected to the conditions at the facility.
Weightman was removed because the service's senior leadership had "lost trust and confidence" in his abilities to correct the substandard conditions at the facility, the Army said in a statement Thursday. The Army named Major General Eric Schoomaker, 58, as the new commander.
The conditions at the Walter Reed outpatient facilities were described by The
A House oversight subcommittee will hold a hearing on conditions at the facility March 5 and said it would issue a subpoena to compel Weightman to testify.
A Senate panel plans a hearing on the issue March 6, and another House committee has one scheduled March 8.
One Democratic senator, Patty Murray of Washington, said the departures of Harvey and Weightman weren't sufficient to correct the situation.
"This action is a good step toward ridding the Bush administration of those who've failed our troops and veterans," Murray said. "But our troops need more than rolling heads. They need a comprehensive plan and decisive action to fix the problems."
Senator Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat who is seeking his party's 2008 presidential nomination, announced plans to introduce legislation ensuring that all wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan receive proper care. Obama said his proposal was motivated by the Post articles.
