Who Really Supports the Troops?

READ MORE: Iraq, Mitch McConnell, Dick Cheney, Josh Marshall, Sean Hannity
by Taylor Marsh

image via JG

"Support the troops" trips off the tongues of Republicans like buttah. The likes of Mr. Bush, Dick Cheney and Mitch McConnell love using the troops as a weapon against Democrats whenever they can. But the reality behind their rhetoric is stark. Remember Rep. Musgrave's military photo op flap? We covered it from the beginning, starting with Josh Marshall, but then the story got traction. Of course, who can forget Curt I support the troops Weldon going after Joe Sestak? In fact, if you're a veteran, you better not come between a Republican and his power base, because you will feel the wrath of the Republicans' support the troop pr platform heading straight on into Republicans swiftboat veterans, don't we.

The common perception of Walter Reed is of a surgical hospital that shines as the crown jewel of military medicine. But 5 1/2 years of sustained combat have transformed the venerable 113-acre institution into something else entirely -- a holding ground for physically and psychologically damaged outpatients. Almost 700 of them -- the majority soldiers, with some Marines -- have been released from hospital beds but still need treatment or are awaiting bureaucratic decisions before being discharged or returned to active duty.

They suffer from brain injuries, severed arms and legs, organ and back damage, and various degrees of post-traumatic stress. Their legions have grown so exponentially -- they outnumber hospital patients at Walter Reed 17 to 1 -- that they take up every available bed on post and spill into dozens of nearby hotels and apartments leased by the Army. The average stay is 10 months, but some have been stuck there for as long as two years. ...

Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility

The flag waving window dressing of the Republican Party goes on. The fact that Republicans are willing to escalate the Iraq war while continuing to under equip our forces and their Humvees has been proven again just recently through the FRAG Kit 5 story. But that didn't keep Republicans from trumpeting escalation from the Capitol Hill rooftops just yesterday.

That there is currently a Senate recess during an escalating war the public doesn't want and voted Democrats in to stop, while our troops go wanting on the battlefield, boggles the mind. But what Republicans are willing to do in the face of such fraudulent "suppport the troop" rhetoric falls nothing short of moral bankruptcy.

Republicans love to stand beside the troops for photos ops. While...

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