Walter Reed gives Democrats political ammo

updated 7:46 a.m. ET March 7, 2007

WASHINGTON - Democrats are using the uproar over Walter Reed Army Medical Center as their latest cudgel to batter President Bush for his Iraq war policies as the administration shows signs it fears political damage from the revelations.

Reports of patient neglect and shoddy outpatient rooms at the hospital have brought Army brass to Capitol Hill to explain and apologize. Bush’s handling of the war has been widely unpopular with voters, and reports about Walter Reed come on the heels of his decision to send more troops to Iraq — which has also met a negative response from the public.

Democrats are stepping up their anti-war rhetoric and casting Walter Reed as the latest Bush administration failure in planning for the war and other contingencies.

“This is the Katrina of 2007,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., comparing the hospital scandal to the 2005 hurricane that left Gulf Coast residents stranded for days without federal assistance.

For its part, the Bush administration has moved quickly to try to contain the political damage. Defense Secretary Robert Gates forced Army Secretary Francis Harvey to resign last Friday, and Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, who was in charge of Walter Reed since August 2006, was ousted from his post a day earlier.

The rapid removal of the two officials was followed by a promise by Vice President Dick Cheney and the president himself that the problems would be fixed, and the creation of high-profile panels to unearth gaps in the system.

In a speech at the American Legion on Tuesday, Bush announced he had asked former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, a Democrat, to lead a bipartisan probe into the mistreatment of wounded troops.

‘Deeply chagrined’
Bush also directed Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson to set up a task force of officials from various agencies to identify problems in treating wounded troops. To underscore the message that he cares about the troops, Bush referred to the group as a task force on “returning global war on terror heroes.”

To further make that point, the administration invited journalists to a naturalization ceremony next Monday at Walter Reed, when Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Emilio Gonzalez, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration, will swear in five wounded soldiers as new American citizens.

Bush administration officials also headed to Capitol Hill on Tuesday and apologized profusely, one by one saying they were at fault for not delving deeper into reports of staffing problems and a maintenance backlog at Walter Reed.

“I’m deeply chagrined by the events that bring us to this hearing,” said David Chu, the Pentagon’s personnel chief.

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