ABANDONED TROOPS

Although Bush is quick to pay lip service to members of our armed forces, the reality of his actions are a disgusting abandonment of their needs at the time they need it most.

The Washington Post points out that thousands of wounded troops can't find help from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The disability benefits and health care systems that provide services for about 5 million American veterans have been overloaded for decades and have a current backlog of more than 300,000 claims. And because they were mobilized to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, nearly 150,000 National Guard and reservist veterans had become eligible for health care and benefits as of Aug. 1. That number is rising.

At the same time, President Bush's budget for 2005 calls for cutting the Department of Veterans Affairs staff that handles benefits claims, and some veterans report long waits for benefits and confusing claims decisions.

Bush hypocrisy knows no bounds.