Don’t Honor John Murtha
Gabe Ledeen
The Corner
A few days ago I was shocked to learn that the Department of the Navy had awarded its highest public service commendation for non-employees to Congressman John Murtha. According to the Department, “nominations for this award will be limited to those extraordinary cases where individuals have demonstrated exceptionally outstanding service of substantial and long term benefit to the Navy, Marine Corps, or the Department of the Navy as a whole.” The citation states:
<<< Congressman Murtha’s selfless devotion to the Nation’s Sailors and Marines ensured they were provided the resources necessary to effectively conduct the Global War on Terrorism. His courageous leadership, vision, and loyalty to the men and women of the Department of the Navy greatly contributed to their quality of life and helped create the most modern and highly trained fighting force in history. >>>
As a Marine deployed to Haditha, Iraq in 2006, I heard Congressman Murtha state several times on national television and the floor of Congress that we were “murdering innocent women and children in cold blood,” “intentionally executing civilians,” and that the war was forever lost due to our brutality and inhumanity. I was shocked. As I stated later in this ad, we expected to be attacked by our enemies in al Anbar province, not by U.S. Congressmen at home. Far from contributing to our quality of life or improving our effectiveness in the Global War on Terrorism, his comments undermined the United States military, slandered servicemen serving in combat, and caused irreparable damage to our international reputation.
This time though, as a civilian learning of the Secretary of the Navy’s betrayal, I realized that I could speak out. I created an online petition to allow others like me to express their outrage. Over the last few days the petition has garnered over 26,000 signatures, and I have received countless emails from Americans grateful for the opportunity to share their disgust with Congressman Murtha and the former Secretary of the Navy, Donald Winters. I encourage you to join us. You can read and sign the petition here.
petitiononline.com
— Gabe Ledeen is a former Marine Captain and two-tour veteran of the Iraq war. He currently travels as a freelance writer and Senior Fellow of Vets For Freedom, and contributes to numerous online publications.
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