IRAQ VETS IN BUSHWORLD

(Hat-tip to Atrios) Glenn Greenwald of Salon points out two searing articles about Walter Reed Hospital by Dana Priest of the Washington Post. Both deserve reading.

Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility
By Dana Priest and Anne Hull
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, February 18, 2007; Page A01

(excerpt)

Disengaged clerks, unqualified platoon sergeants and overworked case managers fumble with simple needs: feeding soldiers' families who are close to poverty, replacing a uniform ripped off by medics in the desert sand or helping a brain-damaged soldier remember his next appointment.

The Hotel Aftermath
Inside Mologne House, the Survivors of War
Wrestle With Military Bureaucracy and Personal Demons
By Anne Hull and Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff WritersMonday, February 19, 2007; Page A01

(excerpts)

The conflict in Iraq has hatched a virtual town of desperation and dysfunction, clinging to the pilings of Walter Reed. The wounded are socked away for months and years in random buildings and barracks in and around this military post.

Some soldiers and Marines have been here for 18 months or longer. Doctor's appointments and evaluations are routinely dragged out and difficult to get.