ABC/Bob Woodruff/To Iraq and Back on now, 9pmCT. nt

[babylonsister]

[blueinindiana]

1. Rush caller blasted ABC

said they care more about reporters than the troops.

[babylonsister]

3. That caller is an asshole. The troops will be talked about. And whatcha

doin' listening to Rush, anyway?

[blueinindiana]

4. I do listen to him ...

I just happnet o come across his garbage and overheard this call.

[moc]

5. These people really are hate-filled pinheads, aren't they?

All they can do is hate. All they can do is lash out at others in hate.

If they can't see how this show builds awareness and empathy for what the troops go through, they are stupid pinheads.

[babylonsister]

7. ABC is making up for all it's negatives; this story is devastating. nt

[moc]

10. I knew they would. Everyone needs to see this. They MUST see this.

We are so shielded from the costs of this war.

:cry:

We talk about the deaths, but because of advances in medical care, a much higher proportion of injured soldiers are being saved, saved to suffer with the effects of such things as traumatic brain injury.

:cry:

[babylonsister]

22. A woman on the program also said we don't see enough of the wounded.

We need to. Then maybe this war would hit home, and people would say 'ENOUGH'.

[CoffeeCat]

66. I completely agree with you....

I sat with tear-filled eyes during this Woodruff special.

ABC CLEARLY demonstrated that our government is "FEMA-ing" our wounded veterans. Bush's
appointed Veteran's Affairs head--was caught in several lies. He was outed by the
soldiers! When asked if soldiers were receiving quality care for brain injuries--once
they returned home--he said they were. Then, ABC cuts to a panel of brain-injured soldiers
who spoke of their personal experiences where most of their hometown hospitals had no staff
that were trained in treating brain injuries!

This entire report was DEVASTATING and SHOCKING. The soldiers wife who told of the
high numbers of injured soldiers who come through Bethesda, and how there are SO MANY
who are injured. Then she said--through many, many tears--that most of her prayers
are with those soldiers who are still in Iraq. You just had this ominous, horrific feeling--
as if those soldiers in Iraq are sitting ducks.

This program followed the therapy of a soldier--while he was in a military hospital
and then a government rehabilitation program. Then, he's sent home and there was no
paperwork for him to get further therapy. His wife told the camera that he is regressing
and not doing well--losing weight and his progress is backsliding. Clearly, this show
demonstrates that we are dumping these soldiers.

This show was so eye opening, but it was so heartbreaking and awful.

God bless ABC and Mr. Woodruff for shining the light on the truth. It's just really
devastating to these soldiers, to their families and to the entire country.

[babylonsister]

76. I'm glad you saw it like I did, TwoSparkles. I hope you sent that to ...

someone!

[blueinindiana]

2. Rush caller blasted ABC

said they care more about reporters than the troops.

[WiseButAngrySara]

14. Why are you repeating this? ...n/t

[moc]

18. I think it was a hiccup. Both were posted at the same time. nt

[babylonsister]

31. A hiccup...

:rofl:

[spooked]

6. HEARTWRENCHING!!!

OMG!! I hope millions of Americans are tuning in to this Reality of Bush's War!

[Dinger]

11. Yes

Absolutely gut-wrenching, but this needs to be seen.

[Reverend_Smitty]

8. Damn, this is difficult to watch

[spooked]

19. I can HARDLY BREATH

I takes your breath away! That last soldier who cannot speak... :cry:

[Phoonzang]

9. Is anyone here actually watching this?

Or are they too damn busy boycotting ABC because they're "teh evil". :eyes:

[babylonsister]

12. I am. It's very important, and something people need to see. nt

[Phoonzang]

17. Indeed, everyone should see it.

I don't know how much more I can actually watch. Good thing I've had something to drink tonight....

[jab105]

16. It's touching, and honest...

everything that the Bush administration wants to hide from us...

Woodruff was very lucky, and he's showing the reality of what being "injured" really means...

[EndElectoral]

13. Very painful...Goddamn it, we've got to stop this shit!!! Every politician needs to watch!!

[Olney Blue]

The lives of these families.... changed forever.

[moc]

20. So young. What a horrible waste.

:cry:

[Olney Blue]

15. This is heart-breaking. All these brain-injured troops.

Bob Woodruff is indeed lucky compared to some of these young troops.

[WiseButAngrySara]

21. I just turned it on. I avoided it because of hype and thought that it

would just glamorize this war somehow. What have I missed?

[moc]

24. It's not glamorizing anything. First 20 minutes or so focused on

Woodward's injury and recovery. Very honest. Very moving. You could feel what it was like to be the family living through it.

Now he's sharing stories of other brain-injured soldiers.

[WiseButAngrySara]

27. Thanks moc. And thanks for the above reminder about the

glitch in the extra post which I criticized!

:hi:

[moc]

28. No problem!

:hi:

[spooked]

26. What is so amazing

is the extent of Woodruff's injuries...They had to remove a large chunk of his skull to release pressure. It was actually a little frightening to look at him. He has made the most amazing recovery. I hope he continues to bring attntion to this suffering.

[Olney Blue]

30. It started with Woodruff and his crew landing in Iraq and going

out to film with some troops in Iraq. They were hit by an IED. Then, he had emergency surgery in Iraq and more surgery back in Bethesda at the Naval Hospital.
His wife was amazing. Now, he is talking about troops with brain injuries and interviewing families.

Woodward looks good, but you can see the pock marks from the shrapnel/rocks on his face.

[babylonsister]

33. He's also definitely aged, but who wouldn't? nt

[youngdem]

23. This should be required viewing

The injuries some of these soldiers have suffered are worse than death. Bush and his cabal will rot in hell for bringing this upon thousands of Americans, Iraqis, Afghanis and on and on.

One of the hardest things I have ever had to watch.

On the upside, Woodward's recovery is absolutely miraculous. His head looks like a soccer ball with half the air out of it, and yet he seems 80% himself perhaps. Amazing.

[babylonsister]

25. I'd NOM this for others to see/read. nt

[moc]

29. Done!

K&R

[soup]

34. yep... and another recommendation

Watching here, too, hard as it is.

[WiseButAngrySara]

57. Done. Oh, the awesome toll. I hope B* never sleeps again. ....n/t

[moc]

32. Frontline VA doc says they're not prepared for TBI. Bush appointed

head of VA says yes. He sure looked like a dumb-ass.

[moc]

35. They're brutalizing the VA now in their ability to serve TBI soldiers.

That poor boy is deteriorating because he's not getting the care he needs. (He's losing so much weight his wedding ring is falling off and fluid is collecting around his brain.)

:cry:

Support the troops, my ass. :mad:

[babylonsister]

36. The VA needs to be brutalized; nay, this admin for cutting funds to the VA

need to be pummeled. Two sets of Books???

[soup]

40. 205,000 being treated per the V.A.

23,000 injured per the DoD

Quite a discrepancy there.

[EndElectoral]

59. Congress must do something rather than rubber stamp Bush after this!!!

[babylonsister]

63. Being treated when this was made. That number has already gone up.

I've also heard there are no funds devoted after the budget runs out for any long term care.

[Reverend_Smitty]

39. yeah you gotta love how this "Support the Troops" administration...

is really taking care of our soldiers. I guess once they are no longer able to be cannon fodder for them, they no longer matter. This government sickens me

[Olney Blue]

37. "Two sets of books for the injured"

[spooked]

43. Brain "wounds you can't see"

from the blasts all around them...

[moc]

48. That's what that doctor that Al Franken talked about was collecting money to buy

helmet lining for. I don't recall his name.

Of course, DOD can't be bothered with providing that to our soldiers.

[spooked]

38. 205,000 Injured in Bush's Wars!

"There are two sets of books" when it comes to reporting injuries...

[alfredo]

73. A wounded soldier ties up a lot of resources on the battlefield.

in many ways an enemy might do well to wound rather than kill. Nothing distracts a soldier more than his friend screaming and crying for help. If that wounded soldier leads to exposing his comrades to the enemies guns, all the better.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

41. This VA guy is another Bush phony.

Says everything is just fine and all the soldiers get the care they need.

[babylonsister]

Yes. I want his name, if anyone has it. He's a tool. nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

54. Jim Nicholson, I think.

Major tool.

[ThatsMyBarack]

60. I noticed that, too!

He needs to be locked up for lying so BIG like that, along with Shrubby and the rest of his gang! :mad:

K&R! K AND R!

[CoffeeCat]

67. Yep, he's a total...

"heckuvajobBrownie" type, isn't he?

He was a liar too--and not a very good one.

I was surprised. Usually, Bush nominates snakes who are
smooth liars.

This guy looked like a liar and a buffoon.

[Olney Blue]

80. And they get great dental care.....

:eyes:

[babylonsister]

82. Blames many of those brain injuries on teeth problems. Imus keeps

repeating that spot in the interview. This guy deserves a major dressing down.

[merh]

42. 205,000

205,000


:cry:

[soup]

46. a year and 1/2 to get treated for a closed-head tbi.

speechless.

[merh]

58. I was involved with a Gulf War vet

It took him over 5 years to receive VA treatment for the Gulf War Syndrome.

That has yet to be considered with the 1.5 Million returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

He had headaches and nervous issues and growths that wouldn't go away.

I believe it was my relationship with him that left me unable to have children.
I went through menopause at 36, after our relationship ended due to the stress of his ailments
and his efforts to get care.

The depleted uranium and it's impact on the soldiers and their partners and to be born children was not even considered in the numbers discussed by the Veterans advocates on that show.

[babylonsister]

44. Closed head injuries??

DoD says, officially, there are 1,835 warriors with head injuries. But lots more have closed-head injuries, which are unseen.

[WeRQ4U]

52. During oral argument to the state supreme Court last month...

While arguing on behalf of a client who suffers from PTSD, I was told by a Justice that PTSD was nothing more than a "buzzword."

I had to fight back a retort.

[babylonsister]

56. Bull Shit! That makes me so flippin' mad!

My 54-yr old b-i-l suffers from PTSD after one year, in VN. He fought drinking and drugging, but the memories would not go away.
He was a teacher for years once he cleaned himself up; that became too much for him.

[WeRQ4U]

65. My retort was essentially this:

It's been covered in at least the last two installations of the Diagnostic Service Manual, so I would venture to guess that it is an actual disorder with diagnostic criteria and associated symptoms. I had to try not to be too sarcastic.

[CoffeeCat]

68. Any "Justice" who would say that...

...does not deserve to be called a "Justice".

This ignorant fool obviously has no knowledge of mental
health, trauma or psychiatric illness. So why is he
commenting on PTSD?

Must be a Bush appointee.

[Olney Blue]

45. Took one guy a year and a half of pushing to get his brain injury

diagnosed. He couldn't remember things.....

[WeRQ4U]

47. I can't believe Jim Nicholson...

He's just another right wing schmuck without any capacity for truth. Even in the face of the numbers, while speaking to someone who was injured and had dealt with the system, he continues to lie. I fucking hate these people.

[GreenEyedLefty]

86. I can't decide if this administration picks people

because they're delusional or just plain glib. Presented with the facts, they repeat the same lies over and over. Bleh.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

49. DoD is issuing gag orders; not supposed to talk to press.

Guy says it's because it would hurt recruiting if people knew about all the injuries.

:nuke:

[ThatsMyBarack]

61. Perfect!

:sarcasm:

[CoffeeCat]

69. Yes, he specifically said....

...that the DoD issued gag orders--not to tell the truth and not to
talk about the numbers of injured and brain-injured soldiers who
have returned home.

When asked why a gag order...he replied that it would hurt military
recruiting and it would affect public perception of how the war was
going.

These bastards love to hide the truth about the war--and the harm it
causes our soldiers. Yet, they supposedly love these soldiers
so much. They send them to die for lies and then they hide them
from public view and fail to provide them with adequate medical
care after they serve.

BushCo and friends are among the most evil, sinister and vile people
to have EVER walked this Earth.

[Olney Blue]

50. Department of Defense is issuing gag orders- don't want to hurt

recruiting for the war.

Well, there it is.

[babylonsister]

51. DoD issued 'gag orders' to not talk to the press, for operational

security reasons. Yea, right.

This show is so revealing!

[Olney Blue]

53. DAMMIT TO HELL! WHY ARE WE STILL IN THIS WAR???????????

[moc]

55. Oh, God. I don't know how much more I can watch.

Those poor young men. Can't even shake someone's hand anymore.

:cry:

[soup]

62. Special report here

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/WoodruffReports/

[Blue_Roses]

64. this is awful

:cry:

On a better note, I'm glad to see Bob Woodruff doing pretty good. Things happen for a reason and I saw on Oprah today that he is going to pursue this much further. It was a great interview with him and his wife.

[CoffeeCat]

71. It is obvious that Woodruff....

...feels that our soldiers have been treated terribly--by this government.

Woodruff sees many things. He sees the high number of soldiers who are severely
hurt and/or brain damaged. He also sees the inadequate care that these soldiers
get after they are sent home.

During this program--it was clearly shown that once these severely injured soldiers
are sent home--they are often forgotten. One soldier returned home and hoped to
continue his physical therapy. There was no therapy because the government didn't do
paperwork on him and nothing was set up. Meanwhile, he deteriorated at home and his
wife said that he was not doing well--his progress had slid backward.

Others interviewed said that most hospitals were not staffed to help veterans with
brain injuries. No one at these hospitals were qualified to help patients with
brain injuries.

This report was so eye-opening. This entire nation should be FURIOUS and demanding
change, NOW.

I saw that a previous poster mentioned Rush complaining about Woodruff's report. Anyone
who has a complaint about this show is anti-soldier. The soldiers told this story. Not
Bob Woodruff. These soldiers told their stories. If Rush doesn't like this ABC special, he
should take it up with these brain-injured vets who told their stories of inadequate and
non-existent medical care!

[babylonsister]

77. The complaint was about ABC covering a journalist instead of the

soldiers. I think, if anyone watched it, they'd be convinced that wasn't the entire story in this most excellent and tragic report.

[CoffeeCat]

88. Absolutely...

If anything, Woodruff's personal story gave him the credibility to springboard
to the core of the story---which was the soldier's pain and lack of adequate
medical care.

This story was not about Woodruff. It was about the soldiers. Woodruff's
personal experience merely demonstrated that he is an eyewitness to the TRUTH
and the reality that our soldiers are being treated like trash--once they
are checked out of the military hospitals.

I think ABC brilliantly marketed this special. Many would tune in to hear
about Woodruff's Iraq experience. However, they might not garner as large
an audience if they positioned this report as a condemnation of our government
and its inadequate treatment of our soldiers. People wouldn't tune in or else
they would be skeptical from the onset.

Woodruff slowly led us into the real story--which was that there are tens of
thousands of brain-injured vets who are being dumped--and the DoD is covering
up the number of injured and the horror of their long-term progress--due to
deplorable long-term treatment.

Rush bought into the notion that this was all about Woodruff, but he's eating
crow now. Anyone who watched that program watched Woodruff's own story fall
to the wayside, as the soldiers' stories took center stage.

[Hamlette]

70. anyone know how those of us who missed it can see it? n/t

[jab105]

72. It's going to be on abcnews.com TOMORROW MORNING!

you can see the whole thing...

It's must see tv!

[babylonsister]

75. Recommend that, but it deserves its own thread. I hope you post that. nt

[babylonsister]

81. Check out abcnews.com or abc.com. I think you can view the show. nt

[jannyk]

74. wow, it's on the west coast now

'hard hitting' piece. Luckily I can watch Frontline online - it was part 3 of their special report at the same time - tough choice!

[uppityperson]

78. I started watching and then had to shut it off. Powerful, very good.

[Broken_Hero]

79. Very good program tonight

very touching, moving, and sad. I had to fight to urge to cry a few times, but my wife didn't hold back...

[merh]

83. kick

:kick:

[ellacott]

84. I fell asleep on the last 15 mins

I fell asleep crying. I have no words to express my feelings for this govt. to let this happen.

I also saw him on Oprah. I'm hoping that this will affect ABC's coverage of this atrocity. I believe that David Bloom's death affected the way NBC covered the war just like Shepard Smith changed a little after he covered Katrina.

[gauguin57]

85. And, keep in mind ... things were so bad that CHER was buying helmets/helmet liners

for the troops. Because she was so pissed off at the Bush admin -- that they were sending soldiers into these kinds of battles without proper helmets.

When you have a celebrity picking up the military slack for your government, your country is in serious, serious trouble.

It's the Roman Empire. And the clock is ticking.

I was very moved by this show, as well.

[dogday]

87. This is so sad... What is even sadder is that it is being

withheld from the American Public.... They need to know what this war is costing the people...