Actually, the most important role of any “safety officer” is to ensure the organization that employs him doesn’t become a defendant in lawsuits. If it turns out that someone does, indeed, get hurt by the organization, then it becomes the safety officer’s job to try to ensure that evidence that can help the defendant in his lawsuit never makes it into the courts.

So, you’re absolutely right in your estimation of what’s going on. I was listening to an interview with Greenwald the other day on NPR in which he spent the entire time being evasive about what happened and why. He certainly came off more as someone who was under the guidance of legal counsel in answering questions in a way that would in no way incriminate the VA. He kept stressing that everything is merely speculative, with absolutely no admission of guilt or responsibility. That’s his main job as a safety officer, after all. It’s infuriating, to say the least, but that’s how business is done in this country. Accountability is a cuss word to these people.