John Murtha In an interview on ABC's Night Line, told it like it was and did not gain any fans from The White House.
As we all know Murtha was the Representative that drew up the resolution to pull the troops out of Iraq. So we are straight on this, and I know that most politics junkies like myself know, but this is for those rank amateurs, (The resolution that was voted on, was the one that the Neo-Cons drew up and said for "unconditional withdraw from Iraq".) This was done in a political move on the part of the Neo-Cons. And we all know that they went ahead and called Murtha a coward.>>
Anyway, John Murtha Democratic Rep. from Pennsylvania, is a decorated war hero, who retired from the Marine Corps, as a Colonel after 37 years of service. When he was ask if he thought that the lack of combat experience in anyway hindered the decision making of (P)Resident Bush, Rumsfeld, and Vice (P)Resident Cheney he gave no direct answer.
Reuters
"Would you join (the military) today?," he was asked in an interview taped on Friday.
"No," replied Murtha of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees defense spending and one of his party's leading spokesmen on military issues.
"And I think you're saying the average guy out there who's considering recruitment is justified in saying 'I don't want to serve'," the interviewer continued.
"Exactly right," said Murtha, who drew White House ire in November after becoming the first ranking Democrat to push for a pullout of U.S. forces from Iraq as soon as it could be done safely.
Here is where the Neo-Cons turn the lives of the troops in to a political ploy. By changing the wording around and adding the clause, "Immediate Withdraw". So that is why you had Bush -o-Cons running around, claiming that democrats had their chance, and have shown their true colors.
At the time, White House spokesman Scott McClellan equated Murtha's position with surrendering to terrorists.
Since then, Bush has decried the "defeatism" of some of his political rivals. In an unusually direct appeal, he urged Americans on December 18 not to give in to despair over Iraq, insisting that "we are winning" despite a tougher-than-expected fight.
"Let me tell you, war is a nasty business. It sears the soul," he said, choking up. "And it made a difference. The shadow of those killings stay with you the rest of your life." Murtha said.
Asked for comment, a Defense Department spokesman, Lt. Col. John Skinner, said: "We have an all-volunteer military. People are free to choose whether they serve or not."
"Our freedom of speech in this country allows all of us the opportunity to voice an opinion. It's one of our great strengths as a nation," he added in an e-mailed reply.
The White House had no immediate comment.
ABA