glimpse into the post-iraq future

There is good news and bad news for our folks in Iraq.

The good news: despite a casualty rate significantly higher than that suffered in Vietnam, the kill rate is lower; many more of our troops are surviving their wounds.

The bad news: many end up with missing limbs and/or significant brain damage NOT to mention psychological harm.

And worse news: despite the admirable efforts of the good professionals and volunteers at Walter Reed and other military hospitals, we should expect Congress, the Pentagon and Veterans Administration to fail to take sufficient care of these people who were injured in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Look for the aging homeless still-in-Saigon Vietnam vets to be joined under American bridges by growing numbers of Iraq still-in-Fallujah vets in a few years. Why? Because the GOP and the de facto Bush Administration doesn't care enough to pay for their care (extra spending might mean smaller tax cuts for the rich, can't have that), and WE don't care enough to hold them responsible.