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| Once Again, "Lord Haw-Haw" Murtha Calls On US To Quit |
| 2006-02-02 |
| In a letter to President Bush Wednesday, Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman John Murtha renewed his call for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and warned that the United States was "in danger of breaking our military." Murtha wrote that Iraq "is not the center for the global war on terrorism" and that Iraqi forces do not need American troops to deal with al-Qaeda in Iraq. "I believe the Iraqis will force them out or kill them after U.S. troops are gone," he wrote. Murtha, who was the subject of a recent Cybercast News Service investigation of his military and political record, calls for a "redeployment" of troops. Such an action would remove the U.S. forces from Iraq and create a mobile force stationed outside that country, according to Murtha's recommendations. "Our military presence is the single most important reason why the Iraqis have tolerated the foreign terrorists," Murtha wrote. Those foreign terrorists, the congressman asserted in his letter to the president, "account for less than 7 percent of the insurgency." He added that "the Iraqis are against a foreign presence in Iraq of any kind." Murtha also urged Bush to replace members of his administration responsible for the "missteps" leading to the war, in order to "restore our credibility." Too much money is being spent on the war and "we need to reallocate funds from the war in Iraq to protecting the United States against attack," the Murtha letter stated. But Murtha also criticized cuts in the military budget, writing that he is "concerned that costly program cuts will lead to costly mistakes and we will be unable to sustain another deployment even if there is a real threat." He said that while the military is "highly capable," it is being stretched thin. "Enlistment for the regular forces as well as the guard and reserves are well below recruitment goals," Murtha stated. But it is Murtha's criticism of the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq that is hurting recruitment, according to recent comments from Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. Ed Patru, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, told Cybercast News Service Wednesday that Murtha's letter expresses a position that "is tantamount to cutting and running before the job is over. It's another surrender message." Patru said Republicans should give no credence to Murtha because "Republicans don't subscribe to the belief that we can have 535 commanders in chief," a reference to the number of senators and representatives in Congress. "Democrats are the party of surrender and Republicans believe that the job in Iraq ought to be finished," Patru said, "and that position is consistent with the position of the majority of Americans." A recent Los Angeles Times poll found that 14 percent of Americans support an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Forty percent support keeping troops in Iraq "as long as it takes." |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #7 I'm sorry to hear that Stockdale is getting so old. He was a true gentleman. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-02-02 23:40 |
| #6 I met Admiral Stockdale a couple years ago (he was barely competent) and he was receiving a lifetime achievement award from the SD City Council - he had to be helped thru the proceedings but his bearing was still majestic. Murtha shows me nothing of th esame, and revels in his attention. I call pathetic fool, demenaning all he's done in serving in the past |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-02-02 23:31 |
| #5 e) stuck on stupid. |
| Posted by: Scott R 2006-02-02 22:49 |
| #4 Very well said, SP. I would have to guess "d", myself. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-02-02 22:22 |
| #3 What I don't get about Murtha is this: he was a career Marine during one of the absolute worst eras for the US military. Now that we have the best military we've EVER fielded (though smaller than I would like), he's going on about how pathetic and helpless they are. Is he a) projecting b) senile c) disingenuous d) all of the above? It's a shame to see. At least Kennedy and Pelosi, et al never had any honor to lose. |
| Posted by: Spoper Phetch6565 2006-02-02 22:15 |
| #2 He knows he'll be fact-checked by the blogs, and still says stupid stuff like "Enlistment for the regular forces as well as the guard and reserves are well below recruitment goals". |
| Posted by: Steve White 2006-02-02 20:29 |
| #1 To sum up Rep. Murtha's position: give the military lots of money, but never let them off the parade ground. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-02-02 19:18 |