Bush inspects Walter Reed

WASHINGTON — President Bush apologized to troops face to face on Friday for shoddy conditions they have endured at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He shook the artificial hand of a lieutenant and cradled a newborn whose daddy is nursing his remaining, severely injured leg back to health.

"The problems at Walter Reed were caused by bureaucratic and administrative failures," Bush said during a nearly three-hour visit to the medical center — his first since reports surfaced of shabby conditions for veterans in outpatient housing. "The system failed you and it failed our troops, and we're going to fix it."

News that war veterans were not getting adequate care stunned the public, outraged Capitol Hill and forced three high-level Pentagon officials to step down. Bush met with soldiers once housed in Building 18, who endured moldy walls, rodents and other problems that went unchecked until reported by the media.

"I was disturbed by their accounts of what went wrong," Bush said. "It is not right to have someone volunteer to wear our uniform and not get the best possible care. I apologize for what they went through, and we're going to fix the problem."

He did not visit Building 18, which is now closed.

Bush critics questioned the timing of the president's visit — six weeks after the problems were exposed and in the middle of the White House's battle with Congress over funding for troops in Iraq.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Robert Gard, among retired military officers who took part in a conference call before Bush's visit, said the president needs to make sure the problems are corrected.

"We have been shortchanging these returning soldiers ever since the conflict began," Gard said. "Look at the inadequate funding in the Veterans Administration. That's caused by the fact that there has been a deliberate underestimate of the number of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who will need care. We've got to make this a seamless web between military facilities and the Veterans Administration so the soldiers are not hung out to dry."

Bush has set up three commissions to look into the problems facing military personnel who come off of active duty and are moving into veteran status.