Why Murtha Matters

[Andrew Fletcher]

I think you are most likely correct that 70% of the military supports Bush. It makes sense.

I am not talking about the general population of the military. I'm talking about top-level commanders. That's not that big of a group but they are in charge of the actual mission.

I'm sorry, but since you seem to know nothing about Jack Murtha and his relationships, you really have no legitimatcy in talking about his statements and what they mean. Sorry.

[BCPVP]

I know very little about the district he represents other than it appears to be split between Bush and Kerry counties.

So unless an incredible number of "top-level commanders" happen to live in those counties, why should I believe that they are his base?

And please answer my question about why these commanders he represents don't speak out.

[Andrew Fletcher]

The commanders he represents will get fired if they speak out. There are numerous examples of military personal and other officals getting fired by Bush when they speak out. I'd suggest a google search, but somehow I think you'll refuse to believe anything I link unless it comes from Townhall or Little Green Footballs.

Your political base can actually be different from the people who live in your district. A lot of people get money from outside of their district.

Also, Murtha's district is actually pretty Republican. I worked for Kerry in Johnstown and most people were supporting Bush.

[BCPVP]

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The commanders he represents will get fired if they speak out.

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So these men care more about their job then the lives of the men that serve under them? Why should we care about the unspoken opinions of these men who care more about their job then their men?

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I'd suggest a google search, but somehow I think you'll refuse to believe anything I link unless it comes from Townhall or Little Green Footballs.

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I don't read either. Don't bother trying to stereotype me it doesn't work. The only example I can think of off the top of my head was some general, but if I remember correctly he was on his way to retirement anyways. Whatever, it still doesn't seem to answer the follow-up question I wrote above.

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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.

[Felix_Nietsche]

you really have no legitimatcy in talking about his (Murtha) statements and what they mean. Sorry.
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I wasn't aware the 2+2 forum elected you the authority on Murtha. This may be a surprise but your opinions carry no more weight than anyone elses on this forum. Sorry.

Patriotism is love of country. Based on what Murtha and other Democrat 'leaders' are saying, I questioned their love of country.... Since Murtha has tuned himself into the media darling of Al Jazeera, I think it is accurate to call him the Axis Sally/Tokyo Rose of the war on terror. I think he is more senile than a traitor but his actions would be exactly the same if he was an al queda mole.

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Patriotism is love of country. Since Murtha has tuned himself into the media darling of Al Jazeera, I think it is accurate to call him the Axis Sally/Tokyo Rose of the war on terror. I think he is more senile than a traitor but his actions would be exactly the same if he was an al queda mole.

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Love of the COUNTRY, not the ADMINISTRATION. I hate Bush BECAUSE I LOVE THE U S of A:

Bush has taken the country into an unwinnable war and alienated friend and foe alike in the process;

He is bankrupting the country with a combination of aggressive military spending and reduced taxation of the rich;

He has deliberately and dangerously attacked separation of church and state;

He has repeatedly "misled," to use a kind word, the American people on affairs domestic and foreign;

He has proved to be incompetent in affairs domestic (New Orleans) and foreign (Iraq and the battle against al-Qaida);

He has sacrificed American employment (including the toleration of pension and benefit elimination) to increase overall productivity;

He is ignorantly hostile to science and technological progress;

He has tolerated or ignored one of the republic's oldest problems, corporate cheating in supplying the military in wartime.

[slamdunkpro]

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Patriotism is love of country.

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Not quite - Patriotism is love of country and a willingness to sacrifice for it. Just giving lip service for the media as in “I love America” doesn’t make one a patriot. You actually have to do something.

As to Murtha, why is it that he gets all this press when Senator Lieberman goes the other way with his OpEd piece and gets almost no mention. Hmmmm…..?

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