Breaking: Rep. Slaughter Calls For Kiley’s Immediate Removal
Breaking: Rep. Slaughter Calls For Kiley’s Immediate Removal
Yesterday, Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, the Army’s top medical official, was appointed acting head of Walter Reed hospital. As ThinkProgress documented, Kiley has known for years about the neglect and deplorable conditions at Walter Reed. Kiley was personally told about injured veterans who were “languishing and lost on the grounds,” sharing drugs and “drinking themselves to death,” and reportedly did nothing to address the problems. In one stunning case, Kiley took no action when personally informed that a soldier was sleeping in his own urine.
In a statement released moments ago, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) became the first member of Congress to call on the Pentagon to immediately remove Kiley from his post at Walter Reed:
“The Department of Defense needs to make a choice: does it care about our wounded veterans, or does it care about public relations?” Rep. Slaughter said today. “While I was glad to see that initial steps had been taken to change the leadership at Walter Reed, yesterday’s news of Mr. Kiley’s appointment was simply baffling. How can a man who stood by for years while American soldiers suffered needlessly be expected to enact real reforms?”
“The outrage of the American public over the conditions at Walter Reed will not be pacified by simply shuffling the deck,” Rep. Slaughter said. “Secretary Gates must immediately remove from command anyone who allowed its facilities to fall into such a state of disrepair.”
“Our wounded soldiers deserve nothing less than the best health care this country can provide and the best leadership to ensure they receive that care.”
Read the full statement HERE.
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Wow, those bloggers sure got some pull. Good job everybody.
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:10 pmIs that fast enough action for you, Roger_Rhetoric?
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:11 pmCan’t they find someone who actually GIVES A SHIT about the troops to oversee this fiasco?
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:11 pmGeeezzz!~
Same circus, different clowns.
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:13 pmRep. Slaughter gets it. Well done!
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:14 pmAgreed with Rep Slaughter ~
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:18 pmANYONE who was ANYWHERE in the chain of command overseeing this typical Bushite disaster should be drummed out of the service with dishonor wrapped around their necks.
My bet is that Bush’s special panel to review this situation will come back with the recommendation that they system be privatized and that that will then fix everything and even cost less!
Walter Reed, a division of Haliburton.
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:23 pmRUCerious. Yep! How ya doing.? Did you get much snow in you area.? Sorry off topic….Continued Blessings coming your way…
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:23 pmLooks like bloggers are taking the lead on this one and MSM is woefully far behind.
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:25 pmIt’s a disgrace that this clown who already did damage in the past is put back in charge, in the here and now. The creepy officials in charge must be out of thier frigging minds to think that this is going to pass as quality improvement. I think it’s like the Harriet Myers appointment controversy and the Repubs are just trying to clog the gears of working government with shit. Then when the Dems oppose, the Repubs can say, “Look, the Dems are wasting time and our efforts to do anything at all”. What a transparent bunch of clods.
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:27 pmLouise Slaughter rocks!
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:31 pmSharon ~ only about 6 – 8 inches.
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:33 pmAmber and I stayed home and built snow Mtn in the front yard!
Where are the Presidential candidates on this IMPORTANT isssue. Or are they saving his/her leadership skill for the future?
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:33 pmNice! Direct action by the Democrats! After years of inaction by Republicans on this issue the Dems are moving quickly to begin to repair the damage for which the Repubs, and Bush particularly, are responsible for creating.
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:33 pmYour welcome Spudge and Thank you and all that sent out emails like I did to our rep’s…We will make a diffrence as long as we keep stinging all reaponsible like african bee’s….Lot’s of effort and I believe we are up to it when I see these kind’s of result’s…Blessings
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:41 pm#13
Where are the Presidential candidates on this IMPORTANT isssue. Or are they saving his/her leadership skill for the future?
Obama spoke out about it yesterday:
Barack Obama: Bush ‘underestimated’ veteran needs
Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) today addressed recent revelations that the care of veterans returning from Iraq has been severely mismanaged and neglected.
“This administration, I think, has consistently underestimated the resources that are needed to support our veterans,” said Obama. “You know, I think, the entire failure — not just restricted to Walter Reed, but overall — is scandalous.”
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:41 pmRU, same here, Bear and I played in the snow and took lot’s of pictures…….Blessings
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:44 pmAren’t the Republicans the ones who “Support the Troops”.
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:47 pmIt seems very clear to me now that they (republicans) only care about them when they are in the same picture frame as the Chimp.
Since this story has broken out, i have yet to hear one of them speak out about the conditions of that, so called Hospital or the patients in it. What they have done, is take away their benifits and given it to their Rich greedy Freinds.
Bush is “commander and Cheif” there for he is the head of the army and should resign!
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:52 pmI’m betting Bush appoints Rep. Pat “The Procrastinator” Roberts of Kansas to investigate the Walter Reed debacle.
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:53 pmgoose1 ~ don’t you mean “commander and thief”?
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:56 pmSo whats wrong with sleeping in piss soaked sheets, the trolls here do it nightly!
/sarcasm off
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:57 pmHeck of a job there Brownie…what more do you need to know
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:02 pmI only wish she had barrowed a line from Ted Kennedy, speaking to the GOP, “what is it that you hate about the American worker” or something to that effect. She could have looked at the GOP side and said “What is it that you people hate about our service men and women?”
That would have been priceless!
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:08 pmthey put the other general in to fix what kiley ignored. but they fire the fixer and replace with the breaker. funny shit when you get the pentagon running in every direction to fix their bizarre buck passing way of life.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:09 pmwhy is it they fire everyone that embarrasses them? is there no accountability for anyone in government? why do they make such a lot of noise about it being someone else’s fault? and to add to that, the generals that are fired don’t get any press about why they were fired. they know where the secrets are. they know they can tell the non security issue ones and they still don’t. what a cover one’s ass mentality!
#16
I seem to recall that Obama supported Lieberman when the phony was running for re-election in CT
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:10 pm23% approve of George’s War
Thats still high really, 23% Support illegal invasion and murder ???
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:12 pmNow that a Democrat has called for Kiley to resign, ol’ thumb in the eye Bush will make sure that Kiley doesn’t resign. Just ‘cuz.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:13 pmWhat did you expect? The Nam GIs faced this same uncaring, underfunded Army Medical system. They were shoveled out to the VA. This time, however, the entire system has been outsourced. There is no military medical system, the VA is shut down due to all the medical officers being called up for duty – causing another outsourcing. Then we have the VA director declare that most of the case load involves dental problems. The overblown, fat headed, super-loyal-to-the-veteran organizations (American Legion, VFW, and yes, the Vietnam Veterans Association) have only touted the war, and forgot the mission they should be on…to rid the planet of war. Poor ole Johnny…comes marching home to the same crap I did nearly 40 years ago. You are on your own GI, bend over.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:14 pm#22- I always save those sets of sheets to serve to my overnight guests. I learned that little trick from Laura.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:14 pmBabs,
Gee, do you still lick them clean like Laura does? I know she’s quite into golden showers too!
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:22 pmI’m glad Rep. Slaughter has taken a stand, but I hasten to point out, “the state of disrepair” is the but the tip of the iceberg. TheREAL problem is the warehousing of soldiers and grossly inadequate outpatient care for servicepersons with traumatic brain injury. This unconscionable lack of services is happening not only at Walter Reed but at VA’s and military hospitals across the nation. We need real reform and we need it now. I am grateful for all the light cast upon this travesty by the media, and the continued persistence of the blogosphere in keeping the pressure on the MSM.
-HopeSpringsATurtle, Brooke Army Medical Center,San Antonio, TX
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:31 pmGOPerverts think talking “bad” (the truth) about issues actually makes them worse. Out of sight, out of mind.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:35 pmOh, yeah, one other thing. The reason the system is slow is that the military gets to keep these troops on the books to bolster the end strength numbers.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:36 pmCheney will say the Dems are micro-managing Pentagon and validating the al-Qaeda strategy.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:37 pmDovoyeur,
And your website is good for society? I liked it personally, but its not good for everyone.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:38 pmThe M.A.S.H. nurse asks the surgeon, big stitches or small sir? He says, Is he an officer or enlisted? She says enlisted. Big stitches then.
Radar tells his new commander, Excuse me sir, I still hear choppers coming.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:46 pmThe troubling part about this scandal is that whoever the current corrupt president has appointed after Lt. Gen. Kiley will inevitably be as incompetent and inept as Kiley!
This president only appoints Rove/Cheney-approved political hacks.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:47 pmI’ve been at work all morning — Has the chimp-in-chief uttered a word about this scandal yet?
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:48 pmOr is he still occupied in handing out flags – the sort of activity the former cheerleader is best suited.
There’s nothing new about this shoddy treatment of the military, the vets and the casualties. This has been a standard attitude throughout history that has been continued in this comparatively new nation. Jingoists and other war mongers cheer them off to war and turn their backs on them when they return home no longer fit for service or are no longer needed. (The GI Bill after World War II was an exception.) The sad part is that so many young and naive people sign up believing the glory stuff recruiting campaigns sell. If they’re lucky they survive their periods of service and get out wiser than when they went in. If their luck runs out, then they return in body bags or in wheel chairs. If their luck doesn’t totally run out they never realize what they lost forever was sacrificed on an altar built upon lies.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:51 pmDovoyeur, what was the purpose of putting your link on this site?
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:56 pmTo show what an a** you are? That you degrade women? What?
Thank you D. MOM …You beat me to the post……Blessings
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:00 pmOff With The Head…
New York Democratic Representative Louise Slaughter has called for the firing of Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley due to his previous role in the Walter Reed fiasco…
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:16 pmDovoyeur,
Take your blogwhoring to RedState.
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:22 pm““Our wounded soldiers deserve nothing less than the best health care this country can provide and the best leadership to ensure they receive that care.â€
A lot of these soldiers probably wouldn’t even be here in the first place if you cowards on the left hadn’t tied their hands from the very beginning of this war!
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:26 pmA lot of these soldiers probably wouldn’t even be here in the first place if you cowards on the left hadn’t tied their hands from the very beginning of this war!
Comment by michael
Can you prove that, or did you pull that out where all your “facts” come from, Your A$$?
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:40 pmThis sad situation about Walter Reed Hospital is nothing new. Nothing has changed, just like old Vietnam days. Enlisted solders are discarded like used tires. This type of mistreatments would never occur if wounded soldiers are commissioned officers. After all, commissioned officers are declared by congress as a gentleman and deserve to receive very best care that DOA can provide.
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:41 pmAny mothers son will do. The military considers all soldiers to be expendable. How did Cheney say it “acceptable losses”. Sharing drugs and drinking one’s self to death is not new. The civil war has to be the finest example of veterans on drugs. Let’s face it society has no acceptable way of dealing with injured veterans except to find scapegoats like the two generals in this story. Trust me attacks targeting generals are politicly motivated and will not help injured veterans. I am concerned that Louise Slaughter and her fellow Americans just made this an issue when we all know it has been going on for ever. Imagine being Kiley yourself knowing that once Slaughter has her pound of flesh he will still be taking care of injured veterans.
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:43 pmmichael,
Our debate still waits. You disappeared so suddenly the other night. Why am I not surprised?
Still waiting for you and Rachel to accept my challenge? If you have the nerve. Any topic!
Comment by michael
Ok, michael. The topic of today’s debate is “michael is a complete and utter moron.†Your task in this debate is to argue in favor of that position.
You start.
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:46 pmOUR VETERIANS DESERVE THE SAME HEALTH CARE THAT THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION ENJOY!!!
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:53 pmI believe that Weightman was not removed from his post for the horrid conditions left behind by Kiley, instead, he was fired for letting reporters have the access that they received.
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:54 pmI seem to recall that the Republicans were the ones in charge of this war and it’s appropriations. And they’re into that hand tying thing, too, I hear (ask Jeff Gannon).
The Republicans need to realize that they days of doing nothing are over. It’s time to support the troops like they deserve not just talking about it.
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:57 pmIn that case, Gates, YOU HAD BETTER GIVE that MORON, CRETIN, DESPICABLE IDIOT and BOMBASTIC IMBECILE Kiley THE BOOT RIGHT AWAY!!!!!
March 2nd, 2007 at 4:12 pmThere’s a new thread – Secretary of the Army Dr. Fran Harvey has “resigned”. Kiley will have a replacement named later-on today according to Gates.
March 2nd, 2007 at 4:27 pmmichael?
**crickets chirping**
Heh.
March 2nd, 2007 at 4:32 pmHey, Michael
Those US troops killed, maimed & traumatized in Iraq would NOT have been killed, maimed or traumatized in Iraq if they hadn’t been sent into Iraq in the first place
Kiley MUST be removed from ignoring any further abuse of the US troops under his supervision at WRMC
But he’s not the only one who should lose his job over this
We also need to put pressure on the Congress to put pressure on the head of the VA to resign in disgrace as well, and that would be former RNC Chairman Jim Nicholson
And what makes Nicholson’s inaction on this issue even more infuriating is that he’s had lots of military experience and various medals in his background
He is a 1961 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. He served eight years on active duty as a paratrooper and Ranger-qualified Army officer, then 22 years in the Army Reserve, retiring with the rank of colonel. While serving in Vietnam, he earned the Bronze Star Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, the Meritorious Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry and two Air Medals.
Nicholson has got to go, as in NOW
March 2nd, 2007 at 5:29 pm“michael,
Our debate still waits. You disappeared so suddenly the other night. Why am I not surprised?
Still waiting for you and Rachel to accept my challenge? If you have the nerve. Any topic!
Comment by michael
Ok, michael. The topic of today’s debate is “michael is a complete and utter moron.†Your task in this debate is to argue in favor of that position.
You start.
Comment by Zooey — March 2, 2007 @ 3:46 pm”
I have a life! Besides you need all the time you can get before I engage you again. So, what sensible subject do you want to pick?
March 2nd, 2007 at 6:21 pmzooey, if I remember correctly the topic was kerry and you were going to explain why it took him over 5 years and after Carter’s amnesty program before he received his honorable discharge!
March 2nd, 2007 at 6:25 pmmichael,
You do not remember correctly. You issued your idiotic topic after you tried to weasel out of mine. Go one with your little life, michael. I’ll keep reminding you. I’m your very own troll.
March 2nd, 2007 at 6:50 pmI have a life! Besides you need all the time you can get before I engage you again. So, what sensible subject do you want to pick? Comment by michael — March 2, 2007 @ 6:21 pm
The sensible subject, is why you pretend to have a life – when the contrary is obvious!
March 2nd, 2007 at 7:12 pmzooey, if I remember correctly the topic was kerry and you were going to explain why it took him over 5 years and after Carter’s amnesty program before he received his honorable discharge! Comment by michael — March 2, 2007 @ 6:25 pm
You should ask Sam Fox, of the Swiftboaters. He derided their findings, and called Kerry a Hero. That would make you st*pid michael ;)
March 2nd, 2007 at 7:13 pmOh, and michael, explain why all of Kerry’s files were release to the Boston Globe – and they said nothing new was in the files.
That makes you a st*pid old c*nt!
March 2nd, 2007 at 7:17 pmRep. Slaughter – at last somebody who takes action!
March 2nd, 2007 at 7:19 pmThanks from the liberal, non-military, who care about all the soldiers, here and in Iraq.
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cc: Chairs of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Committee on International Relations
We, the undersigned, vehemently oppose any U.S. military action against Iran. Such military action would inevitably kill large numbers of innocent people, foster even more hatred and international condemnation of the U.S., and dramatically increase the instability of the region. Our own intelligence agencies have concluded the Iraq war has worsened the terrorist threat, and a war against Iran would add immeasurably more fuel to the fire.
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March 3rd, 2007 at 1:11 pm