Murtha's Self-Serving Drivel

I've visited quite a few senators' & congressmen's websites before but I'd never seen one like John Murtha's until today. Check out this content:

On the War in Iraq:
"Nearly three-fourths of U.S. troops now serving in Iraq favor a military pullout from that country within a year, according to a survey of service members at four U.S. bases there.
"The survey of 944 U.S. troops in Iraq, conducted in late January and early February by pollster John Zogby, also found more than 40 percent of troops said they are unclear on the goals of the U.S. mission in Iraq.
"Among the findings:

"Only 23 percent of troops said U.S. military forces should stay in Iraq “as long as they are needed," and 29 percent supported an immediate pullout. "Forty-four percent said it was definitely or mostly true that the Pentagon had provided them adequate equipment, while 30 percent called that statement mostly or definitely false.

-- From the Marine Corps Times, Mar. 13, 2006

If Zogby's the pollster, then the poll is worthless. He had a great reputation in the mid 90's but his reputation is essentially gone in the eyes of meticulous pollsters. His use of online polling is especially suspect practice.

Considering Murtha's use of these 'statistics' for political cover, it's safe to say that the statistics are part of a pollitorial, not the results of highly ethical, highly professional polling.

"…There’s a growing sense of self-determination (in Iraq), which is a critical trait on the road to democracy...This is not retreat. This is not cut-and-run. This is recognition of the reality in Iraq, one that has evolved into an Iraqi problem that only the Iraqis now can solve…On CBS’s ’60 Minutes’ Sunday night, Jack Murtha predicted the ‘vast majority’ of U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by year’s end if not sooner. We hope he’s right. The time has come."
-- From an editorial in the Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh, Pa., Jan. 17, 2006

The owner of the Pittsburgh Trib-Review is a longtime friend of John Murtha's, reducing the credibility of this editorial to practically nil. Besides, what objective criteria does this writer use to arrive at the statements that "this is not retreat" or "this is not cut-and-run"? Talk about self-serving. These statements are useless.

“President Bush owes the American people more than repetitious slogans such as ‘Stay the Course’ and ‘9-11’ and ‘We’re Fighting Terrorism.'"
‘Iraq is not the center of terrorism; it’s the center of an insurgency, and there’s a big difference,’ Murtha said at a Philadelphia news conference. ‘It’s not going to get better with us over there. They’ll let us fight forever. I say it’s up to them.’ That has nothing to do with American patriotism. It is more about common sense.”

-- From an editorial in The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa., Dec. 22, 2005

I'd ask Mr. Murtha what makes him think that this isn't "the center of terrorism"? Does he think that Zarqawi wasn't trying to establish terrorist training grounds before TF145 & the Iraqi military called in the airstrikes that killed him?

As for his "They’ll let us fight forever" statement, how does that square with his statement that "80 percent of Iraqis want us out of Iraq"? Either they want us out or they'll let us stay. That's such a twisted statement that that can't even make sense to a moonbat Democrat. I'd agree, though, that that statement "has nothing to do with American patriotism" & that it's "more about common sense" or the lack thereof.

"…Murtha’s call for an end to this military foray and its related carnage, which he sees up close as a regular visitor to the wounded at Walter Reed U.S. Army Hospital, is a welcome departure from the cookie-cutter politicians of either party who are afraid to speak up lest doing so upset their coveted poll numbers, perhaps derailing a re-election bid or aspirations for higher office. Whether you agree with him or not, his voice should be heard and given fair-minded consideration, not greeted with the type of partisan bash-down that so often characterizes Washington dialogue…

--From an editorial in the Herald-Standard, Uniontown, Pa., Nov. 27, 2005

WRONG!!! Murtha's "call for an end to this military foray" is cheap partisan politics & deserves the strongest smackdown imaginable. Notice that he didn't have a response to Sgt. Mark Seavey when Sgt. Seavey confronted Murtha & Moran:

"Yes sir my name is Mark Seavey and I just want to thank you for coming up here. Until about a month ago I was Sgt Mark Seavey infantry squad leader, I returned from Afghanistan. My question to you...(applause).

"Like yourself I dropped out of college two years ago to volunteer to go to Afghanistan, and I went and I came back. If I didn't have a herniated disk now I would volunteer to go to Iraq in a second with my troops, three of which have already volunteered to go to Iraq.

I keep hearing you say how you talk to the troops and the troops are demoralized, and I really resent that characterization. (applause) The morale of the troops that I talk to is phenomenal, which is why my troops are volunteering to go back, despite the hardships they had to endure in Afghanistan.

"And Congressman Moran, 200 of your constituents just returned from Afghanistan. We never got a letter from you; we never got a visit from you. You didn't come to our homecoming. The only thing we got from any of our elected officials was one letter from the governor of this state thanking us for our service in Iraq, when we were in Afghanistan. That's reprehensible. I don't know who you two are talking to but the morale of the troops is very high."

Murtha's been exposed as a liar, in large part due to Sgt. Seavey's comments. If this is Murtha's way of supporting the troops, I suspect that most troops would rather go without his support.

Technorati Tags: Mark Seavey, John Murtha, Jim Moran, Cut and Run

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog