Posted on 09/28/2006 5:50:43 AM PDT by Coop
... John Murtha did his own version of Bill Clinton's recent tear on Fox News. Mr. Murtha's reaction was misdirected; the reporter represented Reuters, which is not known for vast right-wing conspiracy bona fides.
The reporter: "...[y]our position paper calls for a pullout of all combat troops by 2008. Do you folks have a plan to prevent Iraq from becoming a failed state that could prove a breeding ground for more terrorism that could directly threaten the United States?"
Mr. Murtha: "Where have you been? ...[i]t's cost over $400 billion today. Let me tell you they said that they would be able to walk amongst them as liberators. They said there were al Qaeda connections. All the things they've said in the past turned out not to be true. What makes you think because they say that there will be chaos that there will be?..."
The reporter: "I'm asking you: Do you think that there will not be chaos?"
Mr. Murtha: "I think ... I think this. It won't be any worse than it is today. It's a civil war today. There's sectarian violence, it's Sunnis versus Shias, and our troops are caught in between..."
"OK, so the position of the group is that it can't be any worse than it is today?"
A VETPAC staffer intervenes. "Well, we're all Democrats, so we don't all agree on the fine points of anything. But that's the general thrust of the opinion."
And still no plan offered...
Democrats "act as if all those America-hating terrorists will evaporate back into the sands of Anbar province if the United States pulls out its troops. Alas, that is not the case." Who said this, some right-winger? No. It was The Washington Post's David Ignatius yesterday morning.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
...Neither can the administration engage in the delusion that we’ve won in Afghanistan. Last Thursday the President said we’re on the offensive against terrorists in Afghanistan, even as the NATO commander said the opposite is true and made a desperate plea for more troops to stop a major Taliban offensive.
We must recommit to Afghanistan. This administration has cut and run while the Taliban-led insurgency is retaking control over entire areas of the country. They’ve cut and run even as we’ve learned that the mastermind of the most recent attempt to blow up American airliners was an al-Qaida leader in Afghanistan. The same killers who attacked us are still plotting attacks against America and they’re still holed up in Afghanistan...
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/news/news_2006_0909b.html
So we need to cut and run from Iraq in order to redeploy to Afghanistan to make up for Dubya allegedly cutting and running from the real war on terror.
Any questions?
...[t]he mission in Afghanistan is far larger, more distant and more difficult. And make no mistake: we are not winning. Instead, we are at a crossroads. If we persist in failing to face up to the profound economic and political requirements, if we neglect the need for strong coordination, if we think the mission is only about counterterrorism or counterdrug operations, then we will lose...
MSNBC covers Clark who is not on the ground, and refused to cover those briefings of those who are.
BTW, CNN spends hours with a Brit reporter in Iraq giving commentary, but we cannot see any military or Iraqi gov briefings?
Why?
Sept. 27, 2006
Rep. Murtha and Others Hold News Conference on White House Military Policy and to Introduce Veterans Running for Congress as Democrats:
MURTHA:
Well, I want to thank VETPAC for stepping forward to protect the veteran against these scurrilous attacks.
My dad and his brothers served in World War II. My three brothers served in the Marine Corps. They were sergeants and they thought sergeants ran the Marine Corps. And my great-grandfather was in the Civil War on the right side. And his grandfather was in the Revolutionary War.
And they called me unpatriotic. And VETPAC has been here to help straighten this out.
This is outrageous, some of the scurrilous attacks, just because a person disagrees with a policy.
And everything that I've said since November 17th of last year turned out to be true. And the intelligence reports which you just saw, which were leaked to the press, have indicated that we're actually causing terrorism by being in Iraq. We've diverted ourselves away from the real war on terrorism, which is worldwide and police work, and we've put our troops in the middle of a civil war.
And we've reduced the effectiveness of our ground forces in the United States with the $8 billion we're spending on the war itself.
We just passed a defense bill yesterday. We put an extra $70 billion in that bill, and the White House didn't even ask for it.
But when these people that have never been there, sitting on their fat backsides there in the White House and other places, in their air-conditioned office, send troops out there and they don't understand what the mission is, we have to fight back.
And I think it's really gratifying to me to see 51 veterans from the different wars fighting to take back the honor and patriotism that they deserve.
So I'm delighted, and VETPAC honored me today by being here. And they continually try to discredit because of the policy difference. This is not a personal thing. This is a policy difference. And everything I've said has been right.
So I appreciate these folks running. I appreciate the sacrifice these young men and women are making -- a very small proportion of this country.
They're sending people back with less than a year in the United States. They're sending them back to Iraq or Afghanistan. They're calling back IRR people who've been out two or three years. It's a draft, for all intents and purposes.
One of my friends, 60 years old, got a letter said, "You can come back."
(LAUGHTER)
Let me tell you something: I went back when I was 35 and it was no fun. I'll tell you, they wore me down, these young kids. And one guy, 55, said he came back, he might have to go overseas.
So they're short people. They're taking in people that aren't as qualified as they used to be. And the readiness of the forces in the United States means we've got no Army ground forces strategic reserve to meet the challenges if we had somebody that challenged us overseas. We couldn't deploy them.
So, I'm just delighted to be here with these other veterans who are running. And I admire their courage.
I ran the first time in '74. I see the same intensity today that I saw in 1974. Every place I go, I see an intensity they want to change direction of this country.
And the Democrats are unified against terrorism, but we got to change direction in Iraq, because Iraq is actually -- according to this intelligence report, is actually increasing terrorism.
Thank you very much.
(APPLAUSE)
Oooooops! Forgot to ping y'all!
Murtha is a total idiot. I pray Irey will pull the rug out from under his ass and sent him packing.
BTTT
"OK, so the position of the group is that it can't be any worse than it is today?"
A VETPAC staffer intervenes.
That is hilarious, it proves what a bumbling old fool Murtha is. It looks like they have at least one VETPAC staffer who has enough brains to realize what a fool he is.
The pathetic thing is Murtha is not only a member of the House but the ranking member on the appropriations committee and has been for years. The man has to be delusional.
And senile to boot.
The outrageous thing, Mr. Murtha, is that the policy you disagree with and are being attacked for is your failure to extend the presumption of innocence to members of the very military you were a part of.
You called the Haditha Marines "cold blooded killers" months ago and there have still been no charges brought against any of them. You are not worthy of being a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
As far as everything he's said being true, perhaps Jackie boy has forgotten his claim that there was no firefight at Haditha? Or his claim that the Marine Corps Commandant was the source of his premature charges?
It's time to BOOT MURTHA!!!
Never forgot his past statements! We haven't been hearing much about them in the "news" have we?
Yes indeedy. My tagline is in reference to murtha. I'll keep it till their election.
I know a few of our troops that would love to have him in front of them .....
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