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| Gen. Pace Criticizes Sen. Murtha Remarks As Damaging To Morale |
| 2006-01-05 |
| About friggin time. The Donks will be hopping mad about the "military politicizing the war debate", but Pace called it like it is, and will take the heat for it. That's a patriot and an honorable man A Democratic congressman's remarks about the military are damaging to troop morale and to the Army's efforts to rebound from a recruiting slump, the nation's top general said Thursday. Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked at a Pentagon news conference to comment on remarks by Rep. John Murtha, D- Pa., a Marine Corps veteran who has become a leading voice in Congress advocating an early withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Pace was asked specifically about an ABC News interview this week in which Murtha, 73, said if he were eligible to join the military today he would not, nor would he expect others to join. "That's damaging to recruiting," Pace said. "It's damaging to morale of the troops who are deployed, and it's damaging to the morale of their families who believe in what they are doing to serve this country." Pace called the news conference to discuss his weeklong trip to Iraq and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf region. He said he found good troop morale and a "quiet confidence" that U.S. efforts in Iraq were on the right track. He added that Murtha's comments were among the first things he heard about upon returning Tuesday. Military officers usually are reluctant to get drawn into political debates, but Pace said Murtha's remarks about recruiting are relevant to his responsibilities as Joint Chiefs chairman. Pace praised the congressman's record but criticized his remarks. "When a respected leader like Mr. Murtha, who has spent 37 extremely honorable years as a Marine, fought in two wars, has served the country extremely well in the Congress of the United States _ when a respected individual like that says what he said, and 18- and 19-year- olds look to their leadership to determine how they are expected to act, they can get the wrong message," Pace said. Aides at Murtha's Johnstown, Pa., office did not immediately return a call for comment. Pace also predicted that the Saddam Hussein loyalists and other Iraqis who comprise the great bulk of the insurgency will increasingly give up, now that Iraq has approved its own constitution and held elections. Pace said he believes the violence, which flared anew Thursday on one of the bloodiest days in Iraq in months, will abate as more Iraqis become convinced that the December elections will produce a representative government that will improve their lives. "As they see their own government providing a way ahead that all of their citizens can understand as progress for their country, ... those who are fighting against the government right now who are Iraqis will more and more lay down their arms and decide to become part of the future of Iraq and not the past," Pace said. In describing the continuing violence, Pace pointedly referred to terrorists and the al-Qaida network, rather than the anti-government Iraqis who are believed to comprise more than 90 percent of the insurgency. "I do believe that over the course of the coming year that violence will subside," he said. |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #9 Lincoln was pretty clear about dirtbags like Murtha. He said they should be arrested, exciled or hung. Rope, tree some assembly required. |
| Posted by: Pagan Allah 2006-01-05 21:57 |
| #8 Murtha is entitled to his opinion, God bless America. But somehow I just can't see him bashing the military in front of a bunch of Marine vets down at the VFW. I'm sure the debate would be 'interesting'. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2006-01-05 22:25 |
| #7 NS, Agreed on the Rummy position. This is a tough one. Murtha needed the slap, Pace is an honorable man, I just hope the Dems take note and don't go into retaliation. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-01-05 22:18 |
| #6 Well, it isn't like this is going to cost GEN Pace a promotion - he's got nowhere to go. But it is fairly extraordinary. The last time I recalll something like this happening was MacArthur, during the Korean war. But - he directly challenged the Commander In Chief - his boss - which is a bit different. What this should do is cause Murtha to shut the f@%k up. But - he's now a lobotomized donk - so there's little chance of that. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2006-01-05 21:33 |
| #5 49 Pan, I understand where you're coming from, but if it came from Rummy, it would be just politics. And Pace saying it, Marine to Marine, makes it something other than politics. The donks should do a real double take on this, because, like you, I think this is not good, but it is what the country needs. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-01-05 21:24 |
| #4 I wish I was in Pace's office after that and could hear the "You shudda saids". Bitchslapping a member of congress is never a good tactic. I only hope this does not force congress to take sides and further divide our relatios with congress. Soldiers don't do politics for a reason, Congress holds the leash $$$. I love what he said but it was really not his to say. Rummy on the other hand should have long ago. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-01-05 21:03 |
| #3 NS - I can't recall such a bitchslapping (a polite one) either.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-01-05 20:31 |
| #2 but Pace said Murtha's remarks about recruiting are relevant to his responsibilities as Joint Chiefs chairman. And indeed "relevant" to all Americans. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-01-05 20:28 |
| #1 I wonder about the extent to which this was calculated and agreed to by the other chiefs. Slapping down a member of Congress like this is extraordinary. Did any one from the Army ever slap down McCarthy? Neither Ike not Marshall did. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-01-05 20:16 |