Bush vs Pentagon on Walter Reed:

Bush, in a speech yesterday: (emp add)

You know, we're going to make sure that the care is superb care. I went over there the other day and I made it clear to the care-givers that there were some bureaucratic snafus that were unacceptable. Secretary Gates and our military folks will clean that up.

AP story, Neglect blamed for Walter Reed woes: (emp add)

Money woes and Pentagon neglect are to blame for shoddy outpatient conditions and bureaucratic delays at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, an independent review has concluded. The blistering report called for major changes in troop care and cautioned that problems probably extend to Army hospitals around the country.

The investigation, ordered two months ago by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, is the first Pentagon review since the disclosure of problems at Walter Reed, one of the premier facilities for treating those wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Citing lapses in leadership and oversight as main reasons for the problems, the nine-member independent group concluded that the Defense Department was, or should have been, aware of the widespread problems but neglected them because they knew Walter Reed was slated for eventual closure.

In addition, the Pentagon made problems worse by ordering a hold-down on costs and expenses — dubbed "efficiency wedges" — even as Walter Reed began experiencing an influx of thousands of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

It wasn't "bureaucratic snafus", though Bush would like you to think so. It was "leadership and oversight" and a policy of "efficiency wedges" that led to the mess. Bush's own Pentagon says so.


posted by Quiddity at 4/11/2007 01:49:00 PM