Hillary to Iowans: I Comforted Troops at Walter Reed

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton told Iowa Democrats Saturday night that she recently visited Washington, D.C.'s Walter Reed Army Hospital to comfort wounded soldiers coming back from Iraq, saying their plight was the result of President Bush's arrogant foreign policy.

Addressing an enthusiastic crowd at Iowa's Jefferson Jackson Dinner, the top Democrat complained, "When the rest of the world opened its hearts to us [after 9/11], he turned his back and pursued a very narrow and unfortunate policy that we are still paying a very big price for."

"And of course, it is mostly falling on the shoulders of the young men and women who serve in our military," she added.

For the first time ever, Sen. Clinton revealed: "Last Tuesday night I went out to Walter Reed hospital, which, many of you know, is the Army hospital in Washington, to walk around and say hello to the soldiers who had been evacuated out of Iraq after suffering grievous injuries, to meet their familles, [and] to answer their questions."

She painted a picture of the unnecessary suffering due to what she said were the president's misguided policies:

"As I went from room to room and bed to bed, seeing young men who had lost arms and legs, who had head injuries that, at least as for now, prevented them from knowing their names and remembering where they came from - I knew that I was seeing the best that America has to offer."

A comprehensive review of news reports over the last week, however, failed to turn up any mention of Sen. Clinton's visit to Walter Reed.

The former first lady made similar claims of meetings with 9/11 victim familles to author Stephen Brill earlier this year. But when Brill attempted to confirm the visits with the families themselves, he got a different story.

"None of it turned out to be true," he told radio host Steve Malzberg. "[Sen. Clinton's office] gave me documents and phone calls and things like that which just plain never happened."

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