The scandalous conditions at Walter Reed isn’t exactly breaking news anymore, except it’s great fun to check back on the news and see which head is currently flying. But if one is looking for the joke in all this, look no further than George W. Bush’s “outcry” over the conditions.

From Buzzle.com:

President Bush was forced to pledge tough action yesterday to deal with a growing scandal over the poor treatment of wounded Iraq war veterans, which has led to a series of military resignations.

The furore has centred on conditions at the Walter Reed hospital in Washington, DC, which is considered the best military facility of its kind in America. However, revelations in the Washington Post last week revealed dilapidated conditions at several buildings used to house military outpatients.

The newspaper described infestations of rats in some rooms, mouldy walls and damp-stained fixtures. That was enough for the head of Walter Reed, Major-General George Weightman, to be fired. His sacking was then swiftly followed by the resignation of the Army Secretary, Francis Harvey. Harvey was the army’s top civilian official.

But the political crisis has not stopped there. In a highly unusual move aimed at stemming the damage, the White House has now become involved. In his weekly radio address yesterday, Bush slammed conditions at the hospital. ‘This is unacceptable to me, it is unacceptable to our country and it is not going to continue,’ he said.

Now isn’t that sweet, Bush is upset at the conditions at the hospital. This is the same man who thinks nothing of slashing the benefits to veterans, so that the VA hospitals may soon end up as disgusting as the military ones. Gee, this sort of compassion just brings me to tears. And never mind that the majority of these men are maimed and sick because of his and Dickie’s quest to control Iraqi oil. And to pave the coffers of Halliburton with gold.

Actually, hearing that Bush is upset does make me slightly queasy. But wait, here’s more. Apparently Bush has previously visited Walter Reed, as have other paper soliders–uh, I mean politicians–and they noticed nothing amiss. I guess they were blinded by the photo op.

The problems at Walter Reed are a potential disaster for many politicians on both sides of the political divide. The hospital is a favoured stop for any politician wishing to show solidarity with the troops and has been visited by many senior figures from both parties. Bush himself has visited Walter Reed several times. Yet, as White House spokesman Tony Snow has been forced to admit, he first learnt of the problems there from the media.

No other visiting politician appears to have noticed anything awry either. Certainly not the dreadful conditions at some of the outlying buildings at the sprawling facility. In particular, the state of Building 18 has been the centre of attention. That building, which houses wounded soldiers not ill enough to be in the main hospital but still requiring outpatient treatment, was the focus of the Post’s stories. It has now been closed for hurried renovations.

So I guess that Bush and his ilk thought that mice, roaches, termites, and mushrooms growing on the walls was normal for a military hospital. Nothing like a little hardship to toughen those silly soldiers up.

I’m also curious if there was any sort of protest from the doctors and nurses working at Walter Reed. Not only protesting for their patients, but for themselves–in having to work in these conditions. I’ve worked as a contract civilian in two military hospitals, so I am wondering if civilians also work at Walter Reed–and civilians may be more aggressive at complaining, since they have no military ties and the upper brass can’t threaten them. Surely the nurses, physicians, and other staff could not keep turning a blind eye. And if they did protest/complain, was it all buried? Were they threatened if they were military? Booted out if they were civilian contract, although the military is hard pressed for nurses and I can’t see how they would even consider firing a nurse.

Anyway, I’d love to hear from any nurses who’ve been at Walter Reed. I have a feeling that this has been kept under wraps for a while, but now that the story broke, there’s no going back.