I just watched Rep. Murtha on Hardball; the man's sincerity and real concern, not politically correct concern, for the troops just shines through. He is a great American.
I think he told Matthews some things that he did not want to hear. One of the issues they discussed was what Bush meant when he said we would stay "until the job is done." Murtha, almost in horror, said that that was not a plan, and that according to generals he has spoken to, such as Casey and Abizaid, that preparing the Iraqi troops for a stable Iraq may take twenty five years.
Twenty five years. Think about it. My youngest child will be 36 years old, technically old enough to have one of her children drafted. My God. What has Bush done?
More from Murtha below:
More below:
Murtha repeatedly said that this is not a war of words, this is a real war. Of course, Matthews would need to be reminded of this, as he never got his hands dirty during a war. Matthews later asked Murtha if what Bush claimed today was true: that all that the generals have to do to get more troops is to ask for them. He asked Murtha, do you believe what the president said today?
Murtha: I don't believe it.
So, Murtha called the president a liar. He said that Bush is not being honest about sending more troops if asked. He wants to know how we are going to repair our military. And he has a plan, a real strategy, not the "stay the course, stand up when they stand down, come home to honor deserved, not cut and run." He has a 4 step plan he tried to get across to Matthews, who kept interrupting him on that.
As an aside, later on Countdown, Fineman said that he believes that Bush does not really think we need to stay in Iraq until their military is ready. He believes Bush is trying to win some time from the American people in order for the Iraqis to have their election, and then start to draw down. He believes this because he thinks republican advisors are telling Bush that if he does not start a withdrawal from Iraq, the republicans will lose at least one house of Congress and then Bush will spend his last two years answering subpoenas as to how we got into this mess.
Me, I don't think Bush cares about any of that. I think the man believes God talks to him and who cares what these pesky humans do? He is special. He is God's chosen one. Scary, I know, but I truly believe that is why the man is so incredibly dumb/arrogant/ignorant over what is going on in Iraq.