US Rep. Murtha says he wouldn't join military now

Rep. John Murtha, a key Democratic voice who favors pulling U.S. troops from Iraq, said in remarks airing on Monday that he would not join the U.S. military today.

A decorated Vietnam combat veteran who retired as a colonel after 37 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Murtha told ABC News' "Nightline" program that Iraq "absolutely" was a wrong war for President George W. Bush to have launched.

"Would you join (the military) today?," he was asked in an interview taped on Friday.

"No," replied Murtha of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees defense spending and one of his party's leading spokesmen on military issues.

"And I think you're saying the average guy out there who's considering recruitment is justified in saying 'I don't want to serve'," the interviewer continued.

"Exactly right," said Murtha, who drew White House ire in November after becoming the first ranking Democrat to push for a pullout of U.S. forces from Iraq as soon as it could be done safely.

"Let me tell you, war is a nasty business. It sears the soul," he said, choking up. "And it made a difference. The shadow of those killings stay with you the rest of your life."

Asked for comment, a Defense Department spokesman, Lt. Col. John Skinner, said: "We have an all-volunteer military. People are free to choose whether they serve or not."

"Our freedom of speech in this country allows all of us the opportunity to voice an opinion. It's one of our great strengths as a nation," he added.

I have met Jack Murtha and heard him speak at a couple events in Johnstown, PA. My read on him is this: I believe his heart was in the right place (re: caring for the troops) but something happens to some older folks in their 70's - he has been overcome by the casualties. He has frequently visited the wounded in Bethesda and Walter Reed and they have gotten into his mind. Hence his anti-war stance now.

Have run into a couple retired Army people (70 or 80) who are also against the war on islamofascism.

My two cents...

Semper Fi,

McCain: Murtha “Has Become Too Emotional”

snip

MR. RUSSERT: You gave an interview to Byron York in the New Republic magazine and he writes this: "John Kerry, McCain says, doesn't have `the strength to see it through.' And John Murtha is `a lovable guy,' but `he's never been a big thinker; he's an appropriator.' ...McCain tells me that Murtha has become too emotional about the human cost of the war. `As we get older, we get more sentimental.'"

That's pretty--you don't think John Kerry has the strength to see the war through?

SEN. McCAIN: That was a bit out of context. I said that I believe that John Kerry has gone from more troops to now pre-emptory withdrawal of troops and I don't agree with him on that. I don't--if I said--I think he's a good man and he's a friend of mine. We just have a fundamental disagreement.

In the case of John Murtha, again, John Murtha's a great patriot. He's a great patriot. And I've always respected and admired and had great affection for him. I just disagree with him. And I...

MR. RUSSERT: You said he's becoming too emotional.

SEN. McCAIN: I think he has become emotional, and understandably so. He goes to funerals. He goes, as many of us do, out to Walter Reed and he sees the price of war. And I think that that has had some effect on him, as it has many Americans.

MR. RUSSERT: "As we get older we get more sentimental."

SEN. McCAIN: I do. I...

MR. RUSSERT: Murtha's seventy...

SEN. McCAIN: I plead guilty.

MR. RUSSERT: Murtha's 73. If you were elected president in 2008, you'd be 72. Would it be an emotional John McCain?

SEN. McCAIN: I hope I would be sentimental. I love to be sentimental. It's one of my favorite pastimes.

MR. RUSSERT: But those are pretty tough words for the Democrats. Is this a new John McCain...

SEN. McCAIN: No. No, look...

MR. RUSSERT: ...who ran in 2000 as a maverick and now wanting to win Republican primaries, is...

SEN. McCAIN: No. No.

MR. RUSSERT: ...getting a little tougher on Democrats?

SEN. McCAIN: Look, that's one article. I have expressed my friendship with John Kerry for a long period of time. I've expressed my respect and affection for John Murtha over time, too. I don't--I'm not going to be any different.

http://tinyurl.com/7lntj

McCain said in an interview with Byron York for the New Republic:

John Murtha is “a lovable guy,” but “he’s never been a big thinker; he’s an appropriator.” Using language that Bush never could, McCain tells me that Murtha has become too emotional about the human cost of the war. “As we get older, we get more sentimental,” McCain says. “And [Murtha] has been very, very affected by the funerals and the families. But you cannot let that affect the way you decide policy.”

"And I think you're saying the average guy out there who's considering recruitment is justified in saying 'I don't want to serve'," the interviewer continued.

"Exactly right," said Murtha

Murtha is so out-of-it that he can only say "exactly right" while the MSM interviewer has to deliver Murtha's propaganda punchline.

How long before we see this exchange;

MSM:

Murtha:Uhh...Exactly right

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