Support Our Troops - Implement Dole-Shalala Commission Recommendations

I received the following message today. Why do we continue to allow our civilian leaders to speak hollow slogans such as "support our troops" while the needs of our battle scarred veterans go unmet?

"Wednesday, President Bush addressed the largest gathering of veterans in the country - the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Kansas City. Instead of taking the opportunity to discuss the urgent issues facing veterans today, the president offered a history lesson -- and actually compared Iraq to Vietnam. This was an ideal opportunity for the President to show real leadership on the crisis facing veterans' healthcare, but he failed to do so.

Plenty of people are making arguments about the historical accuracy of the President's Iraq-Vietnam comparison. We are more frustrated by what Bush did not say.

We have often admonished the President for not addressing veterans' issues. This speech today represents a new low. After taking credit for increasing the veterans' budget, even after years of underfunding the VA, the President was strangely silent on the real issues facing new veterans, including naming a replacement for Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson who steps down in October, and implementing the recommendations of the Dole-Shalala Commission to fix the nation's military and veterans' hospitals.

Take a minute now to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper using our online tool. Demand that Congress and the President take real action now to implement the Dole-Shalala recommendations.

It only takes a few minutes, and at the link above we've included some talking points you can use in your letter.

What happened to all the outrage and promises after Walter Reed? The words "Dole-Shalala" were not even mentioned in the President's speech. The Dole-Shalala Commission's Report set out six clear recommendations to be implemented (most by the President), and now they are gathering dust on a shelf somewhere while the President and Congress are on vacation for the summer.

So if we're going to talk about the legacy of Vietnam, we need to remember what happens when a nation fails to take care of its veterans. We cannot abandon another generation of combat vets to untreated mental health problems, substance abuse, unemployment, homelessness, and suicide. As President Bush said today, "History does remind us that there are lessons applicable to our time. And we can learn something from history." Let us learn that the men and women who have fought in Iraq, Afghanistan, (and all wars) deserve to be provided for. Not just used as a backdrop for another political photo op.

Make your voice heard today .

Thank you for your continued support."

Sincerely,

Paul

Paul Rieckhoff
Iraq Veteran
Executive Director

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

QuestionItNow Blogs

boots on the ground know what washington dc will never figure out... what a shock!

If we are to get an honest assessment of how the so called 'surge' is working, we need to listen to those who are there The War as We Saw It. Sorry, for our policy makers, listening to the boots on the ground is not an option.

They say, 'let us not listen to those who have been there.' Instead we should listen to those who go over in private jets to take escorted tours around the markets of Baghdad with 100 armed soldiers and 4 Blackhawk helicopters, fact finding missions indeed?

Boots on the ground and blood in the sand means nothing after all. Isn't it always the same... people breathing rarified air make decisions for people who are knee deep in the issue... and they have the nerve to call themselves leaders... of some sort....

Hmmmm, what is wrong with this picture?

Still In Iraq

How Many More?

Dear Senators,

Yesterday, Helena, Montana was unfortunate enough to lose another of our precious soldiers, Army Specialist, Donald M. Young, 19, of the 1st Cav out of Ft. Hood, TX, Correction, we did not lose him, we know exactly where he is. He was killed in an IED attack in Baghdad, Iraq. So, he is not lost at all, he is DEAD, gone forever. My heart goes out to his family, all who knew him, and our nation, forever lessened by his loss.

The 4th ID of Texas is gearing up to go to Iraq again, in December, potentially taking the love of my life with them, again. Today, in Michigan, where I am away from my husband and my home, directing the Iraq Summer Campaign, trying desperately to end the war, the flags are flying at half mast by order of Governor Jennifer Granholm, for Army Pfc. Charles T. Heinlein, 23, who also died in an IED explosion, in Baghdad. My heart goes out to his family, his friends and our nation … again, lessened by his loss.

When will you say that this endless, missionless fiasco has killed enough of our troops, enough of the Iraqi people and destroyed enough homes, hospitals, schools and roads? When can I lay down the burden of working everyday to end this war, secure in the knowledge that my elected officials are doing the right thing?

When will you realize that cutting off funding for the war is the way to end it? No more funds except those that it takes to bring our troops safely home. The end is entirely in your ability through the power of the purse. I want no more arguments from you that there are not enough votes to carry such a measure. Look to the leadership of Montana’s own Jeannette Rankin for the courage it takes to stand alone if you must; but stand! Please, for the sake of our nation and the future of the world, make it stop.

Tammara Rosenleaf

Helena Peace Seekers
Military Families Speak Out

http://www.thehomefrontwardiaries.com/entryH

Still In Iraq