BCT Editorial – 3/6/07

This page was last updated on March 6, 2007.

Been there; Editorial; Beaver County Times; March 6, 2007.

The purpose of this critique is not to defend the alleged poor conditions at the Walter Reed outpatient facilities or at any other VA hospital. Our veterans deserve the best medical care we can provide. Anything less is unacceptable. The purpose of this critique is to show the editorial is using the allegations for political reasons that have nothing to do with the welfare of veterans.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“Vietnam veterans have been there.

“Now, it’s time for them to be there for their comrades in arms who are being wounded in Iraq and, to a lesser extent, Afghanistan.

“Vietnam veterans know what it is like to be ignored by the people they are defending. Vietnam veterans know what it is like to deal with a bureaucracy does not take their needs seriously. Vietnam veterans know what it is like to deal with a government that gives mere lip service to their health and welfare.

“The way the wounded, maimed and scarred of Iraq are being treated at the nation’s military and veterans’ facilities is a disgrace.”

[RWC] Note how the editorial expanded the scope of the alleged sub par conditions. To date, the allegations refer only to the outpatient facilities at Walter Reed Army Hospital. This sentence, however, extrapolated those allegations to cover the entire VA system.

Should all VA facilities be checked to be sure there aren’t any repeats of what’s alleged at Walter Reed’s outpatient facility? Of course. The Times, however, has already concluded, “The way the wounded, maimed and scarred of Iraq are being treated at the nation’s military and veterans’ facilities is a disgrace.”

“Vietnam veterans have been there and had that done to them. What happened to them must not happen to their present-day counterparts.”

[RWC] If you were keeping count, the author used “Vietnam” five times during a short editorial allegedly intended to focus on healthcare for veterans. The truth is, the editorial was intended solely to try and link Iraq and Vietnam.

Unfortunately, veterans going back to at least World War II have been complaining from time to time for decades about one VA facility or another. Of course, the editorial can’t mention this because that would undermine its agenda.