Of course we all know that the Republicans in leadership positions across America are hypocrites in many ways.
But one of the areas where I think we will see evidence of their hypocrisy more and more between now and election day this coming November is in the removal of troops currently in Iraq.
It seems like there was no shortage of accusations in the past year from the right that Democrats wanted to cut and run, and yesterday
Media Matters for America documented Bill O'Reilly
spouting off about leaving Iraq. Bully(sic) O'Reilly said
"Somewhat of a disturbing report out of Iraq, and it's more important than it first appears. The governor of -- or the mayor of Karbala, which is a town in the south part of Iraq, Shiite-controlled, has banned any further government dealings with the American military in his province, saying that they're not behaving well.
Now, it's a small little thing, but I picked up on it, because here is the essential problem in Iraq. There are so many nuts in the country -- so many crazies -- that we can't control them. And I don't -- we're never gonna be able to control them. So the only solution to this is to hand over everything to the Iraqis as fast as humanly possible. Because we just can't control these crazy people. This is all over the place. And that was the big mistake about America: They didn't -- it was the crazy-people underestimation. We did not know how to deal with them -- still don't. But they're just all over the place."
So Bully O'Reilly says that we need to "hand over everything to the Iraqi's" as soon as possible, does he?
But what did John Murtha promote as a Congressional resolution last November?
JOINT RESOLUTION
To redeploy U.S. forces from Iraq.
Whereas Congress and the American people have not been shown clear, measurable progress toward establishment of stable and improving security in Iraq or of a stable and improving economy in Iraq, both of which are essential to `promote the emergence of a democratic government';
Whereas additional stabilization in Iraq by U.S. military forces cannot be achieved without the deployment of hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. troops, which in turn cannot be achieved without a military draft;
Whereas more than $277 billion has been appropriated by the United States Congress to prosecute U.S. military action in Iraq and Afghanistan;
Whereas, as of the drafting of this resolution, 2,079 U.S. troops have been killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom;
Whereas U.S. forces have become the target of the insurgency;
Whereas, according to recent polls, over 80 percent of the Iraqi people want the U.S. forces out of Iraq;
Whereas polls also indicate that 45 percent of the Iraqi people feel that the attacks on U.S. forces are justified; and
Whereas, due to the foregoing, Congress finds it evident that continuing U.S. military action in Iraq is not in the best interests of the United States of America, the people of Iraq, or the Persian Gulf Region, which were cited in Public Law 107-243 as justification for undertaking such action: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That:
SECTION 1. The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date.
SEC. 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S. Marines shall be deployed in the region.
SEC. 3. The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy.
So, Murtha wrote "the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date."
And Murtha also said "I said two years ago, the key to progress in Iraq is to Iraqitize, Internationalize and Energize. I believe the same today. But I have concluded that the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq is impeding this progress."
And Bully O'Reilly says "so the only solution to this is to hand over everything to the Iraqis as fast as humanly possible."
But WHAT did Bully O'Reilly say last fall, after John Murtha's well-thought out comments on this subject?
Once again, courtesy of Media Matters, Bill O'Reilly said "I want them to win the war. It's a disaster for the country if we don't do well in Iraq. It's a disaster for the world if we don't do well. These pinheads running around going, "Get out of Iraq now," don't know what they're talking about. These are the same people before Hitler invaded in World War II that were saying, "Ah, he's not such a bad guy." They don't get it."
So......
Why is it OKAY for Bully O'Reilly to say TODAY that we need to get our troops out of Iraq as soon as possible, but it was wrong for a Congressman with unmatched credentials to say it last fall?
Of course it's NOT okay, except in NeoConWorld.