Chickenhawk Express looks at Murtha and hits the nail on the head:
Here’s a round up of some comments from Rep. John “Cut and Run” Murtha…
"Our welcome has been worn out," Rep Murtha told NBC's "Today" show."
"They're subdued compared to normal morale of elite forces," Murtha said. "Obviously, it was a very difficult battle. A lot of people were killed, but it was a brutal battle."
"Murtha said the U.S. had to no choice but to pull out now, explaining, "There's no military solution.”
"Murtha said he did not ‘see any achievable goal or national security interest in this operation."Mr. Murtha joined a small but influential list of Democratic lawmakers who have publicly urged the president to change the mission."
"We should get out as quickly as possible,' and in the middle of July I said, `Get our troops out because this could deteriorate into a very tragic situation."
"The one thing I heard repeatedly from our troops that this body has got to keep in mind came from the mouths of the young marines, who said, `Congressman, three of the last four Christmases I have been deployed. I have been away from my family."
"The marines did not even have the resupply capabilities necessary because they have been continually deployed. That is because of a lack of funding for the Marines to keep adequate preparations for these kinds of missions. We cannot keep committing our troops in a vacuum."
These are not statements about Iraq.
These are statements made by Murtha in 1993 in response to the massacre in Mogadishu. Murtha was one of the main forces behind President Clinton’s retreat from Somalia. Despite the media portrayal of Murtha as a “war hawk”, Murtha has a history of calling for leaving the battle before the mission is complete.
Now Murtha is calling for President Bush to do what Clinton did in Somalia. Murtha said the following in an interview on CNN’s Situation Room Friday…"The thing that disturbed me and worries me about this whole thing is we can’t get them to change direction. And I said over and over in debate, if you listen to any of it, in Beirut President Reagan changed direction, in Somalia President Clinton changed direction, and yet here, with the troops out there every day, suffering from these explosive devices, and being looked at as occupiers — 80 percent of the people want us out of there — and yet they continue to say, "We’re fighting this thing."
Poor choice to use for comparison Murtha. Now you have reminded everyone what part YOU played in the strengthening of al Qaeda. You have tipped your hand to reveal that YOU helped embolden Osama bin Laden. All because you advocated the “cut and run” from Somalia when the going got tough.
Here’s a little reminder of what bin Laden took away from our hasty retreat from Somolia courtesy of a 1998 interview with ABC's John Miller…
"Our people realize[d] more than before that the American soldier is a paper tiger that run[s] in defeat after a few blows," the terror chief recalled. "America forgot all about the hoopla and media propaganda and left dragging their corpses and their shameful defeat"
Go and read the rest.
