Still Flaky
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BY JAMES TARANTO
Friday, November 18, 2005
Even the New York Sun is hyping the news that Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, supposedly a hawkish moderate Democrat, has joined the cut-and-run caucus. "Bush in 'Nosedive' as Murtha Urges Retreat" reads today's Sun headline (though the lead sentence says "President Bush's power appears to have reached a nadir," which would mean he's coming out of a nosedive). Here's what Murtha had to say:
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Mr. Murtha said American forces should "immediately redeploy" from Iraq in order to help Iraqis take control of their country. "The presence of U.S. troops in Iraq is impeding this progress. Our troops have become the primary target of the insurgency. They are united against U.S. forces, and we have become a catalyst for violence," the congressman said.
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This is not news. Murtha flaked out on the liberation of Iraq even before Congress approved it. In September 2002, a month before the congressional authorization, an outfit called Veterans for Common Sense reported that Murtha was "questioning a war-powers resolution that even most Democratic leaders seem reluctant to oppose":
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''All of us want to get rid of Saddam,'' Murtha says. But he believes that [President] Bush ''went about it the wrong way.'' . . .
Murtha says a key reason for questioning a second Iraq war is strategic. He's worried that it would cost the United States not only money and lives, but also important allies. By moving without international support, Bush could alienate Arab allies, and ''we could lose access to the intelligence we need to fight the war on terrorism.'' . . .
Nothing he has seen in intelligence reports has convinced him that Bush needs to rush through a resolution, Murtha says. Even so, he has not decided how he will vote.
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Murtha ended up voting in favor of the liberation. Then, in May 2004, as the Associated Press reported, he called for more troops:
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"We cannot prevail in this war as it is going today," Murtha said yesterday at a news conference with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. Murtha said the incidents of prisoner abuse in Iraq were a symptom of a problem in which U.S. troops in Iraq are undermanned, inadequately equipped and poorly trained.
"We either have to mobilize or we have to get out," Murtha said, adding that he supported increasing U.S. troop strength rather than pulling out.
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Murtha had rather eccentric views about where the increased troop strength should come from. As we noted in October 2004, he was one of only two members of Congress to vote for a bill that would have reinstated the draft--a bill opposed even by its sponsor, grandstanding Charlie Rangel.
An exchange with Margaret Warner on last night's "NewsHour With Jim Lehrer," though, suggests that Murtha has simply taken leave of reality:
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Warner: But may I ask you, sir, if you believe--[the president] says--for whatever reason, Iraq has become the center of terrorism - that if the U.S. appears to retreat in the face of that, that it will be a blow to the American fight against radical Islamic terrorism? What do you say to that?
Murtha: Well, I say that the fight against Americans began with Abu Ghraib. It began with the invasion of Iraq. That's when terrorism started. It didn't start when there was criticism of this administration. This administration doesn't want to listen to any ideas.
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So according to Murtha, "terrorism started" either in March 2003 (with the "invasion of Iraq") or in May 2004 (when the Abu Ghraib miniscandal came to light). One wonders where he was in, say, September 2001. One wonders, too, how a political party can keep a straight face while putting him forward as a spokesman on national security.
(Hat tips: Glenn Reynolds and Mickey Kaus.)
opinionjournal.com
daily.nysun.com
veteransforcommonsense.org
pittsburghlive.com
opinionjournal.com
pbs.org
instapundit.com
slate.com |
