U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday named former Senator Bob Dole and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala on Tuesday to investigate problems at the military and veterans' hospitals, a subject that has caused an uproar in the nation's capital in recent days.

"We have a moral obligation to provide the best possible care and treatment to the men and women who served our country," he said in a speech to the American Legion.

Bush also said a task force consisting of seven cabinet secretaries, led by Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson, would be convened to determine what can be done immediately to improve veterans' care.

Last Friday, Bush announced that he had ordered a comprehensive review of conditions at the nation's network of military and veteran hospitals, where many soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan were being treated, following the disclosure of substandard conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Army's flagship hospital for wounded veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The commander of the hospital was fired by Army Secretary Francis Harvey last Thursday, and Harvey himself resigned on Friday.

The House and Senate were holding hearings this week regarding the poor conditions at Water Reed Army Medical Center.

Source: Xinhua