Our Military Is Broken

Read this story from Steven D at Booman Tribune. It's pretty much the definition of "appalling."

[Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside's} crime was attempting suicide by self inflicted gunshot wound while serving in Iraq. If convicted, she faces life in a military prison. While being treated at Walter Reed after her first suicide attempt, she was diagnosed by the psychiatrists there as suffering from a severe mental disorder likely triggered by the stress of her duty in Iraq. Her superiors however, disagreed with that diagnosis. They thought she was using her condition as an "excuse" to escape military service. In short, apparently they believe that her attempt to kill herself was not genuine, that it was part of some scheme to dishonor her country and constituted criminal conduct on her part. They didn't trust her doctors' diagnosis of mental illness, or they simply didn't care, although these psychiatrists were also serving military officers. They wanted to make an example of Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside.

Add in the travesty of the trials before the Star Chamber -- excuse me, I mean the "military tribunals," the inability to provide adequate equipment for the troops, the lack of care for veterans suffering from war injuries, and you have a pretty pathetic mess. It looks as though Bush has gotten rid of every competent officer -- i.e., everyone who displays any sort of solid judgment -- and left only those who think like he does, which is to say, those who don't think at all.

Read the whole thing. I promise it will fill your outrage quotient for the day.