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| NEWS FLASH: U.S. Rep. John Murtha officially not intelligent |
| 2006-03-06 |
| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. presence in Iraq is hurting the worldwide war on terrorism and benefits only Iran and al Qaeda, U.S. Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record) said on Sunday. Uh huh... opposed to the U.S. succeeding in Iraq and Afghanistan, giving freedom to some 50 million people, and creating a long term solution to terrorism through democracy... but hey lets give up on that its bad for the war on terrorism. "The only people who want us in Iraq are Iran and al-Qaeda," Murtha said on CBS's "Face the Nation" political talk show. "And I talked to a top-level commander the other day and he said China wants us there also. Why? Because we're depleting our resources ... our troop resources and our fiscal resources. "... The war on terrorism is worldwide. In Iraq, it's a civil war," said Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat. Hmm its amazing to me that today top U.S. Marine Gen. Peter Pace said Iraq is not on the brink of civil war, but yet Murtha still claims this. I wonder who has spent more time in Iraq, Gen. Pace or Murtha??? Murtha, who in November called for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, said it was useless for the United States to advise Iraqis. "One of the problems I see and frustrating things is our ambassador keeps giving advice to the Iraqis," Murtha said. "Every time we give the Iraqis advice, they vote for someone else ... The Iraqis don't pay attention to our advice." How is this guy a U.S. Rep.?????? The U.S. role in fighting terrorism around the world is being subverted by Iraq, said Murtha, who characterized the sectarian strife between Iraq's Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims as a civil war that must be settled internally. Murtha, a decorated Vietnam veteran who retired from the Marines Corps Reserve as a colonel in 1990, said Iraq would do a better job of rooting out terrorists once U.S. troops leave the country. Ummm not if the Iraqi government falls in a coup b/c we left too soon. More or less its- Murtha: Lets give control of Iraq over to Zarqawi "I'm convinced they know where they are, they know who they are," he said. "But they won't tell us because they've turned against us. We've lost the hearts and minds of the people." Apparnetly Murtha didn't read the article posted yesterday about Sunni tribesmen capturing over 1000 terrorists and turning them over to the Iraqi national government. The United Nations is scrutinizing Iran because of its nuclear research but Murtha said Tehran has become emboldened because of the U.S. focus in Iraq. "We have a situation where our military is in such bad shape, it couldn't deploy to a second front," Murtha said. "And the Iranians know this. North Korea knows it. China knows it. We're depleting our resources in Iraq." Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday and said the war in Iraq was going "very, very well" but Murtha was skeptical. "Why would I believe him?" he said. "This administration, including the president, has mischaracterized this war for the last two years ... So why would I believe the chairman of the Joint Chiefs when he says things are going well?" Refer to my earlier comment about Gen. Pace |
| Posted by:bgrebel |
| #10 So if we withdraw at the military's pace (not Murtha's) and Iraq falls into civil war, like, say Columbia - and there is another terrorist attack - then what? I suppose it proves your point? All possible events. I don't think there are many here (Rantburg)who equate winning the war in Iraq with zero terrorisat attacks here (in the USA). Better clarify your point. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2006-03-06 17:28 |
| #9 I suspect this "top level commander" was playing him for a sucker. Note the China comment. The Chinese do not want us there, they do not want us anywhere in the region. And they certainly don't want our military getting useful field training, while our R&D goes into overdrive advancing our technologies by 20 years into the future. In fact, the only saving grace, as far as the Chinese are concerned, is any opportunities to gather intelligence about our operations and tech. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-03-06 13:01 |
| #8 So ltop & others: So what happens when President Bush's "victory" is achieved, the U.S. military coalition withdraws and Iraq dissolves into Civil War and there is another domestic terrorist attack on the U.S.? I dont call this doom and gloom. I call it totally realistic. |
| Posted by: Just Curious 2006-03-06 12:55 |
| #7 Keep playing and playing the Dems own words like this all the way to the November election. All the doom and gloom by so many 'conservatives' is just a lot of nerves. They put Murtha out there, just make him a poster boy for the party of defeat. Don't show any mercy. They've already started to whine and cry about the Reps fear mongering, however, it is a real danger and only demonstrates the Dems utter failure to face the threat. Show some god damn backbone and push back. |
| Posted by: Ominese Clainter3533 2006-03-06 10:42 |
| #6 PA is a disputed state, reds vs. blues. Murtha's rallying the base as well as doing his normal despicable thing. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-03-06 09:47 |
| #5 This guy reaaally doesn't want to get re-elected, doesn't he? |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2006-03-06 09:32 |
| #4 Ptah, Murtha's pathology goes way back, unfortunately. Remember, he's the guy who helped persuade Clinton to leave Somalia. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-03-06 08:20 |
| #3 I suspect the person who runs against Murtha this fall will have no problem raising funds. Suggestion 1, put up ads at every VFW and American Legion. Suggestion 2, get pictures of Murtha using his walker. Suggestion 3, Use the money to show ads of Murtha calling Pace a liar with the response from Pace at his press conference this week. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-03-06 08:11 |
| #2 "One of the problems I see and frustrating things is our ambassador keeps giving advice to the Iraqis," Murtha said. "Every time we give the Iraqis advice, they vote for someone else ... The Iraqis don't pay attention to our advice." Sorry for the double comment, but the US didn't advise Iraquis on how to vote, but DID advise the Palestinians. He's confusing Palestine and Iraq, the idiot. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2006-03-06 07:51 |
| #1 Find out who picked his aides: Betcha he's being led by the nose by some snot-nosed college grad who voted for Kerry. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2006-03-06 07:49 |