The recent disclosure that the Veterans Administration budget requests have not recognized the 80,000 new patients in the system from the Afganistan and Iraq wars and thus are some 3 Billion per year low, is shameful from an administration that professes respect for our men and women in Uniform who sacrifice so much for our country. The Congress should immediately demand the firing of the VA top official, and should increase the budget authorization, and require that the VA immediately take steps to address the special needs of this war.

The Bush administration doesn't want to admit the toll we pay for this foreign policy, but that is of no account to me. Our government having made the decision to go to war must also prepare for the inevitable effects of war. Nevermind the cheerleading shouts about how easy it will be, the propaganda about how our system can handle it without challenges.

The reality is that the 1800 killed are the tip of the mountain, with some 20000 serious disabilities, four times that number who are VA patients from these wars. We need to invest in treatment for psychological trauma, for rehab, and for the many more who will surely need this care as the war evolves over the next decade.

It's one more cost that was hidden in the effort to mislead the public about the real costs of this war here at home. Naturally we also know that the Iraqi people are bearning a cost that is many times these numbers, and their medical and rehab infrastructure is less sophisticated, plus they have public health challenges absent from the VA situation.

Our nation owes this care nomatter what the propaganda cost. Keeping our social contract is expensive, but it also keeps us able to recruit and retain our forces, and it surely helps our society as we embrace returned injured and handicapped soldiers. You judge a democracy largely by how it treats it's most vulnerable. Here we see clearly how our society feels about the sacrifices made in our name.

At this point there are thankfully a few who stand up for our vets, and I hope that the Congress can come together to bring the needed resources to bear, to openly admit the need, and to commit to increase the capacity of the system to ensure that we care for our own. This would restore some integrity and balance to our national conversation about how we will conduct this war, how we prepare for peace.