John Murtha’s Pattern of Wrongness
Reason #99 why the US military cannot stand John Murtha: he’s a hypocrite.
In his interview yesterday with CNN regarding the death of Al-Zarqawi, John Murtha was asked this question:
“Is it fair to say that this attack and the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi wouldn’t have happened if U.S. troops were not on the ground?â€
Murtha’s reply:
“Well, I’m not sure about that. I’m not sure it was a bomb that killed him from the air. So I’m not sure about that. But one thing for sure, this is significant. This is significant, two aspects. One is the fact that Zarqawi is killed, but also the fact that they appointed a defense minister and an interior minister. There’s no question we can’t win this militarily. So it’s a matter of time. The Iraqis are getting better. I think the intelligence came from the Iraqis, as I understand it. Now, this is the early reports. And it came to the security forces and the Iraqis and then passed on to the Americans. So this was a key element. Whether they could have done this themselves in this isolated area, I don’t know.â€
This the same Murtha who said of Iraqi civilian casualties in Haditha, Iraq:
One woman, as I understand it, in talking to the officials in the Marine Corps, was bending over a child pleading for mercy and they shot her in cold blood. There has to have been a cover-up of this thing. They killed innocent civilians in cold blood.
They tell me this is dereliction of duty.
There’s nobody done more for the troops than I have. Nobody’s worked harder than I have, in trying to make sure the troops have what they need. But I will not excuse murder. And this is what happened. There’s no question in my mind about it.
So let’s get this straight, Congressman: You doubt the SUCCESSES of our troops in Iraq but are sure of ALLEGED FAILURES of our troops in Haditha? No charges have been filed against any Marine in the incident, nor is the investigation complete, but Rep. Murtha KNOWS and is SURE they are true because he read it in Time Magazine?
If that weren’t enough, after all Murtha’s insulting comments about Iraqis not standing up for themselves or taking control in Iraq, he praised them as “getting betterâ€. How convenient.
Mr. Murtha, here’s the video of the US military killing Al-Zarqawi “from the airâ€. Now tell us that this attack would have been pulled off by Iraqis if the US had taken your advice to cut and run back in November 2005.
By the way, John Murtha urged then-President Clinton to begin a complete pullout of U.S. troops from Somalia in 1993. We did and today Somalia is an Al-Qaeda recruiting center. Murtha said in 1993;
“There’s no military solution. Some of them will tell you [that] to get [warlord Mohamed Farrah] Aidid is the solution. I don’t agree with that.â€
Sound familiar?
As a result of this “cut and runâ€, Osama Bin Laden became emboldened and planned new attacks against the US: “Our people realized more than before that the American soldier is a paper tiger that run[s] in defeat after a few blows.â€
So… why exactly should anyone EVER listen to ANYTHING John Murtha has to say EVER again?
Cross-posted at Amy’s Blog
UPDATE:
Sweetness & Light: “TIME’s ‘Correction’ About Haditha”
June 9th, 2006 at 6:12 pm
Murtha Wants to be House Majority Leader
From CNN
Rep. John Murtha, an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq, announced Friday that he would run for majority leader if the Democrats take over the House in the fall elections.
"If we prevail as I hope and know we will, and return to…
June 9th, 2006 at 6:23 pm
Murtha’s “heroism” (in ‘Nam) notwithstanding, Are his pants on fire yet? They should have been years ago.
“There’s nobody done more for the troops than I have.” What planet is he from? Or has he just gotten completely wrapped up in Newspeak? I mean, at least most donkeys acknowledge some portion of reality occasionally, but this breathing abortion can’t get anything straight.
Just another example of how stupid our elected officials really believe us bumpkins are, and how short they believe our memories are.
June 9th, 2006 at 7:32 pm
Berg: No Good in Al-Zarqawi’s Death
Father of man believed to be beheaded by al-Zarqawi sees no good in terrorist leader’s death
June 9th, 2006 at 7:35 pm
Murtha is an Asshat. Nice analysis.
June 10th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
Bush is out of his depth. Worse, he is callous to the deaths of American soldiers caused by the political stunts and anti-democratic corruption of Rove and Cheney. You support these traitors.
June 10th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
Conservative Logic: The sky is blue; my car is blue; therefore, my car is the sky.
Re-read the entire interview on CNN. Murtha is saying, accurately, that he did know if it was the bomb that killed Zarqawi, or, as has been reported, Iraqi or US troops engaged Zarqawi after the bombing. The truth-challenged Bush administration has some ’splainin’ to do, because the “facts” keep changing (as usual). All Murtha was saying is that it seems rather odd that two 500-ton bombs went off, destroying everything in sight, yet “It seemed puzzling, too, given the destruction and the condition of the other bodies, how Mr. Zarqawi’s head and upper body — shown on televisions across the world — could have remained largely intact.”
So, does Murtha doubt the success of the [US] troops? No; he doubts that the story, as told by the Bushies, is what it is. And rightly so. But, the autopsy is coming, which should place Zarqawi at his time of death, as well as the exact cause of death, and I’m sure there is a great deal of wishful thinking at Camp David this weekend that the autopsy shows Zarqawi died due to woulds inflicted by the bombs, and not something that perhaps points to another cause of death (like, say, that he was beaten to death and transported to the scene which, just coincidentally, would make it look good for the Americans).
Murtha’s points have a certain ring of truth to them, perhaps due to his 34 years as a Marine, perhaps because speaking truth to power brings credibility, and/or perhaps because he is simply right. The time has come for the US to tell the Iraqis to stand up so we can stand down, in no uncertain terms. We will be forced to redeploy the troops eventually; the handwriting is on the wall (Iran) and we’d better be prepared. This mis-guided attempt and forging democracy in the middle east is going to cost the US much, much more than this $9-billion-a-month mess we’ve made in Iraq.
And now back to our regularly scheduled program of conservative name-calling, finger-pointing and deception.
June 10th, 2006 at 1:11 pm
So Murtha doubts the STORY of the SUCCESS of the US troops. Got it.
June 10th, 2006 at 1:12 pm
Why does he not DOUBT the STORY of the MARINES in Haditha???
Hmmmmm
June 10th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
Because he’s been BRIEFED by the MARINES who KNOW? Becuase he’s been LIED TO by the ADMINISTRATION over and over? Becuase the TRUTH doesn’t fit with the STORY?
Take your pick.
June 10th, 2006 at 1:53 pm
Actually, he has NOT been briefed by Marines. The investigation is still ongoing. The DOD briefs Congress but they cannot give any conclusions. The Marines whom you say “KNOW” actually “DON’T”.
Read these:
“Capt. James Kimber said he first learned about the shootings in February when he heard that a Time magazine reporter was asking questions about civilian deaths.
Kimber said he heard nothing about a civilian massacre during city council meetings and talks with local leaders.
“It would have been huge, there would have been no question it would have filtered down to us,” he said. “We reported no significant atmospheric change as a result of that day.” [Reuters]
“I would think that if it was as bad as everybody is making it out to be, I’d have heard something about it when I was there,” said the Rev. Ben Mathes, 53, whose son, 1st Lt. Adam Mathes, is Kilo company’s executive officer.
He said he also did not feel animosity from Iraqis he encountered while on patrol with Kilo company in Haditha.
“You would think that if something horrible had happened they would just disappear or just have nothing to do with these folks,” Mathes said. “They came out on the streets and brought us bread and tea and invited us into their homes. The businessmen would have them come into their shops.”
Back to Amy… mark my words, skeptic, Haditha is NOT what it’s been trumped up to be. I can almost garauntee it.
My husband spent a year there (82nd ABN) and one of the Iraqi eyewitnesses (I believe it is the coronor, I’ll have to check my sources) lied outrightly about the Marines taking over a hospital and abusing him. I’ll post an article soon about this…
You’re right, the truth DOESN’T fit Time or Murtha’s story. Shame on them.
Moving on….
Exactly what lies has the administration told to Murtha?
June 10th, 2006 at 5:45 pm
Murtha Wrong — Again
California Conservative notes that Congressman John Murtha is continuing a long pattern of getting it wrong when it comes to the U.S. military and the war on terror. It is scary to think that anyone still takes Murtha seriously at
June 11th, 2006 at 1:26 pm
Moonbat logic: Fact: Lemons are sour. Fact: oranges are orange. Therefore, Bush lied.
Never let the facts interfere with your thought processes, SB!.
It is amazing the total disconnect between facts and reality these people have.