Getting rid of Shinseki, in typical DC fashion, is a do nothing non-solution designed to look like something is actually being done, when it's not. Nuthin up my sleeve, presto!
First of all I would point out that all of the major veterans organizations except one wanted Shinseki to be kept on the job. They ought to know.
Secondly, getting rid of Shinseki isn't going to help. We now have the new guy in charge, Sloan Gibson who may be a very good administrator, but he's only been with the VA for 4 months and therefore has a steep learning curve. One step backward.
But what is ironic about this is that Shinseki was undermined as Army Chief of Staff by Donald Rumsfeldt for telling the truth to the Senate Armed Service Committee that the 145,000 troops the Bush administration planned to send to Iraq would be inadequate to maintain order and that several hundred thousand troops would be required. He was of course proven right within a couple months when the shit hit the fan there with looting and an insurgency.
Now despite huge increases in funding for the VA under President Obama the VA is taxed with caring for the many tens of thousands of vets that were horribly injured in two expensive, off the books wars sold on lies by the Bush crowd, injuries that in many cases would have been fatal in previous conflicts, but which many survived due to advances in quickly and effectively caring for the injured in the field and getting them to a hospital. These are very challenging and expensive injuries to treat.
Do you remember when our troops started up-armoring their humvees in the field with whatever they could grab because they didn't yet have the parts needed to protect against road-side bombs? And Rummy said "you go to war with the army you have, not the one you wish you had. That jack-ass wasn't fired. But Shinseki once again falls victim by having the VA we have instead of the VA we wish we had and one that is swamped by the devastation caused by the bumblings of the worst president in American history, a fool who was completely in over his head and whose damage to our country Obama has had to contend with and fix from day one.
It's a shame, Shinseki, an honorable man and and servant of his country has once again fallen on his sword and once again, it won't help fix the things that are broken.
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