How many days did Rumsfeldt say it would take to overrun Iraq and our people would come home. Anyone remember ?

Yes – He said (paraphrased) “6 days, maybe 6 weeks, I doubt if 6 months.”

And Ninja97 – why the hell doesn’t the VA have the ability to properly diagnose PTSD? Try inadequate funding levels.

“The problem starts with money. The administration uses carefully cooked numbers to pretend that it has been generous to veterans, but the historical data contained in its own budget for fiscal 2008 tell the true story. The quagmire in Iraq has vastly increased the demands on the Veterans Administration, yet since 2001 federal outlays for veterans’ medical care have actually lagged behind overall national health spending.”

http://select.nytimes.com/2007/03/05/opinion/05krugman.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Or this attitude, which is still in place.

“The administration’s approach to funding wounded veterans should already be clear. In 2005, the Wall Street Journal noted the growing cost of veterans benefits due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon’s response was to complain that it would “rather use [the funds] to help troops fighting today.”

“The amounts have gotten to the point where they are hurtful. They are taking away from the nation’s ability to defend itself,” says David Chu, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for personnel and readiness.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/05/vets-benefits-hurt-security/

It is so cute how you take the administration at their word – especially considering the long chains of obfusication / truthiness that have arisen in the past few years.

It is so cute how you take the administration at their word – especially considering the long chains of obfusication / truthiness that have arisen in the past few years.

Respect for human life has always been the repukes mantra–start showing it.

**crickets chirping***

Way to support the troops, I tell ya.

Thanks, I could not have said it better.

I might add, however, under No. 3, Contract the care to KBR. That will assure a low survival rate.

FC

1. Restrict the amount of body armor and armored vehicles. Face it, too many of these military personnel live through wounds that would have been fatal. Restriction on use of body armor would increase the fatality rate to a more acceptable historical standard.

2. Delay treatment. There will be fewer surviving with serious wounds if we just delay treatment or evacuation of these wounded personnel from the war zone. Additionally, it will decrease the transportation costs of evacuating the injured to European basis.

3. Contract out the care to Iraqi hospitals. This will really lower survival rates and reduce costs.

4. Identify soldiers that have survived combat situations with the high potential of causing PTSD’s, these personnel will be reassigned an MOS of cannon fodder.

5. Readjust all VA and military physician pay scales to create bonus and other incentives for decreasing disability ratings.

6. Remove PTSD from DSM as a recognized disorder. This may be done by a presidential executive order.

7. Create a rapid reaction force of psychiatrists and psychologists paid for by DoD and VA to go on news shows and spin this situation our way, i.e. to explain that all of these people are really malingering.

8. Have US Attorneys prosecute anyone claiming disability compensation for fraud. Non compliant prosecutors will be fired.

REMEMBER, WE HAVE A WAR TO FIGHT AND THOSE WHO WERE UNLUCKY ENOUGH TO BELIEVE IN FAIR TREATMENT AS VETERANS NEED TO SUCK IT UP. AFTER ALL, WHO WOULD EVER SUPPORT THIS WAR IF THEY REALLY KNEW WHAT IT COSTS?