Why Murtha Matters

[Andrew Fletcher]

"Is it just me, or is the national media mostly missing the real story about Pennsylvania Congressman Jack Murtha? It doesn't matter that he is a decorated veteran-- that's not why his statements against the war are so important. Plenty of people who served in the armed forces, including people who were in Iraq, oppose the war. There is another reason.

To people who understand Pennsylvania politics, it should be pretty obvious. Murtha has long been a tireless advocate for the military perspective on Capital Hill. He is their point man on a number of issues. In exchange for that support, the military establishment has helped Murtha bring thousands of jobs and millions of dollars to communities across PA.

Murtha talks with high-level commanders on a regular basis. When he speaks, it means that he is speaking not only for himself, but top military officials. Murtha's reversal on the war is an indication that senior members of the military establishment believe success in Iraq is impossible. In short, Murtha's statements imply that Bush has lost support from high-level military officials and therefore has no alternative but to admit defeat."

Discuss

[BCPVP]

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In short, Murtha's statements imply that Bush has lost support from high-level military officials and therefore has no alternative but to admit defeat.

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And if some/many/most? high level military officials still support Bush?

[Andrew Fletcher]

They don't. Murtha wouldn't have said the things he said if this wasn't the broadly shared position of senior military officals. Period.

[BCPVP]

Murtha's immune from acting like a politician?

[Andrew Fletcher]

Why is this so hard for people to see what I'm talking about?

Murtha is a politician. All politicians are required to respond to their political base. So, it that sense, Murtha is doing what has base wants him to.

The key thing is that his base is the top-level commanders of the U.S. Armed Forces.

[BCPVP]

[ QUOTE ]
Why is this so hard for people to see what I'm talking about?

Murtha is a politician. All politicians are required to respond to their political base. So, it that sense, Murtha is doing what has base wants him to.

The key thing is that his base is the top-level commanders of the U.S. Armed Forces.

[/ QUOTE ]
Top-level commanders of the U.S. Armed Forces are probably not even close to a majority of Murtha's base.

But let's pretend they do. Why aren't these top-level commanders speaking out themselves? Don't give me a "They'll lose their job if they do." line. If that's the case then they care more about their job than the lives of the men they command and I don't believe that's the case.

Is it really so unbelievable that Murtha could be representing the Democratic base that voted him in (or even certain political groups) as opposed to these shadowy "top-level commanders"?

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They don't. Murtha wouldn't have said the things he said if this wasn't the broadly shared position of senior military officals. Period.

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This is your opinion. It is not a fact. If you have evidence showing this is true please post it. If senior military officials thought the war in Iraq was unwinnable, they would say so to the press off the record.

[cardcounter0]

How about Donald Rumsfield?

Rumsfeld’s comment that: “…this insurgency is going to be defeated not by the coalition – it’s going to be defeated by the Iraqi security forces, and that is going to happen as the Iraq people begin to believe that they’ve got a future in that country”.

While we are waiting for that to happen ...

“Lt. Col. Frederick P. Wellman, who works with the task force overseeing the training of Iraqi security forces, said the insurgency doesn’t seem to be running out of new recruits, a dynamic fuelled by tribal members seeking revenge for relatives killed in fighting. ‘We can’t kill them all,’ Wellman said. ‘When I kill one I create three’.”

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How about Donald Rumsfield?

Rumsfeld’s comment that: “…this insurgency is going to be defeated not by the coalition – it’s going to be defeated by the Iraqi security forces, and that is going to happen as the Iraq people begin to believe that they’ve got a future in that country”.

While we are waiting for that to happen ...

“Lt. Col. Frederick P. Wellman, who works with the task force overseeing the training of Iraqi security forces, said the insurgency doesn’t seem to be running out of new recruits, a dynamic fuelled by tribal members seeking revenge for relatives killed in fighting. ‘We can’t kill them all,’ Wellman said. ‘When I kill one I create three’.”

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Your quotes don't show that senior military officials think the war in Iraq is unwinnable. They show the importance of having US forces in Iraq training Iraqi forces.

The top brass of today's military are either Vietnam veterans or those who joined the military just after Vietnam. They remember how bad our post-Vietnam military was, and how much better it is now. If they thought that the war in Iraq was unwinnable and was slowly destroying our military, you would see stories quoting unnamed Pentagon sources about the need for a US exit from Iraq all over CNN/Fox/MSNBC, ABC/NBC/CBS news, and all the print media.

Let the swiftboating begin!

From Crazy Legs Coulter:

"And unlike Murtha, who refuses to release his medical records showing he was entitled to his two Purple Hearts, we know what North did. (These Democrat military veterans are hardly shrinking violets when it comes to citing their medals, but they get awfully squeamish when pressed for details.)"

Risking one's life for freedom is not good enough for Crazy Legs if you don't agree with her.

"The only Republican congressman who did not offer to have sex with John Murtha on the House floor was Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio. While debating Murtha's own proposal to withdraw American troops from Iraq in the middle of a war waged to depose a monstrous dictator who posed a threat to American national security, Schmidt made the indisputably true remark that Marines don't cut and run. (She was right! Murtha voted against his own proposal.)"

That was not his bill they were voting on, it was a republican bill designed to fail in the first place.