By Greg Palast
OpEdNews.Com
His name's Maurice. He's 26 years old with a face like an angel and a
computerized prosthesis where his left leg used to be. His name's Victor
and he still seems like a boy. His cherubic face, set against blond hair,
is plagued by an unanswerable question every time his restless eyes
inadvertently fall on the stump: "Why?" His name's Steve and you
couldn't imagine a more All-American soldier -- that is to say if he
hadn't lost his right arm. A real good patriot, he's always in control of
himself and he has the air of an American hero. His name's Rob. Bound to a
wheelchair, he's mad at the whole world and explodes in a barrage of
insults at everyone and everything for the loss of his right leg and the
uselessness of his left.
Maurice, Victor, Steve, and Rob are just a few of the thousands of GI's
returning from Iraq -- often with one or more limbs amputated, flown in
with little notice under the cover of night and brought to Walter Reed
military Hospital in Washington, D.C. Here, they're operated on, treated,
fitted with prosthetics when possible, generally medicated, and given
psychological and physical therapy. For the record, Walter Reed is the
hospital where wounded soldiers returning from Vietnam went. No fanfare
for these heroes.
On top of the injuries they've had to endure to their bodies and hearts,
they come home to be ignored by mainstream American media. Only an English
TV station, Channel 4, considered it newsworthy to go to the hospital to
interview the injured soldiers. Of course, all interviewees must be
selected and briefed by army leadership in advance of any conversations
with journalists. Curiously, the casualty statistics released by the
Pentagon contradict those of the U.S Army. While the Pentagon contends
that 2722 soldiers have been wounded in action and 417 in non hostile fire
as of March 1, the U.S. Air Force confides that it has flown approximately
12,000 wounded soldiers into Andrews Air Force Base over the past 9
months. With the severity of injuries sustained, it seems like the
Pentagon's reduced estimates are meant to camouflage a scandal that could
cost George Bush his re-election.
"They come here [to Walter Reed Hospital]19 or 20 old and when I see
them leaving with missing limbs - I've seen up to 3 limbs gone off people
and I don't think in our generation, we've seen this amount of harm done
to young people", explained Major General Delaune on public radio in
Minnesota. "During the Gulf War, there were about 3 soldiers wounded
for every death. In the current Iraq war, there are 7 wounded for every
death", says an article titled "New Technologies and Medical
Practices Save Lives in Iraq" in a Knight-Ridder newsaper. The facts
support this statement: the Kevlar vests the soldiers now wear save lives,
not limbs. England's newspaper The Guardian reports that the medical
personnel, overwhelmed, work 70-80 hours a week, and according to CBS,
Washington's largest military hospital has had to borrow beds from its
cancer ward to meet the swollen needs of its prosthetics ward. Still the
hospital can't handle the load, and several wounded soldiers are being put
up in a nearby hotel. This writer was able to meet with some of them there
after having been prevented from continuing her interview in the ward,
because she hadn't obtained the permission of the army, passed its screen
tests, and the soldier she was interviewing hadn't been briefed as to how
to respond. Against all odds, she had made it through the security gate at
the entrance to the military-medical complex, into the building, to the
5th floor.
"Do I have to get naked for the interview? Can I keep my shoes on? !
Oops! I said 'my shoes'
