Murtha--speaking out of both sides of his mouth?

One would think so when his own constituents get deployed to Iraq...

From WJAC-TV:

Marines Leave For Iraq

POSTED: 6:33 pm EDT July 5, 2006

Richland Township -- For Lance Coperal Alex Marcon, his mission is Iraq is clear."I have a lot of friends that have been over there. I just want to go there and come back."He, along with 16 of his closest friends and Marines, are leaving for their first tour of duty in Iraq. The group will be stationed just west of Bagdad.

Wednesday, Congressman John Murtha was notified of their deployment and had this to say."We just have to make sure as we work this thing out, that they have what they need. They need to just do their job and listen to the people they are working for. We are proud of them."

How interesting... for

It is John Murtha who said he would never join the armed forces today. It is John Murtha who, without giving our troops any benefit of any doubt, announced that Marines had killed civilians in "cold blood" and that the military had covered it up! It is John Murtha who has said that America cannot win this war militarily, and political solutions.

So what would Congressman Murtha do about Iraq? Well, he has said that the US should pull out the troops and re-deploy them to neighboring nations like Kuwait. Hmmm, let us examine the brilliance of this plan. Murtha, along with his fellow intellectual wannabes like Kennedy and Sheehan tell us repeatedly that our troops are the targets in Iraq. They tell us that the only reason terrorists are in Iraq is that our military is there. So, using their illogic, if we put troops in Kuwait, then wouldn't the terrorists then go there?

But I digress.... back to the original story:

As for Murtha's recent comments on the war, saying it's time for the troops to come home now, those we spoke with say there's still more work to be done."I think we need to stay over there till the job is done," says Marcon. "We've got to stay over there for as long as it takes."The marines will go to Camp LaJeune in North Caroline for the next 7 weeks for training, and then head to Iraq.

Too bad your own congressman doesn't share your sentiments, Lance Corporal Marcon. It's a shame that your own congressman is willing to put his political ambitions and self-interests before you, your mission, and your country.

A shame, indeed.

****UPDATE and bump*****

Now Murtha himself writes:

I am disappointed that the President spoke on Independence Day to soldiers and their families at Fort Bragg without putting forth a new plan for Iraq. The President instead stuck to his old "stay the course" slogan saying "I'm not going to allow the sacrifice of 2,527 troops who have died in Iraq to be in vain by pulling out before the job is done."

The problem with this statement is that the military has done its job. The Administration and the newly formed Iraqi government have not. As I have said many times before, and our top Commanders agree, Iraq cannot be "won militarily." Why then does the President continue to insist that our military shoulder the burden of this Administration's mistake-laden policies? Instead, the President should have said to this most deserving crowd:

Further advances in Iraq can only be accomplished by the Iraqis. They must fight for their own unity and for their own freedom. Our military has accomplished its mission in Iraq. It is time that we bring them home.

Again, Mr. Murtha, you just told your brave constituents who are going into harms way for a purpose in which they believe,

"We just have to make sure as we work this thing out, that they have what they need. They need to just do their job and listen to the people they are working for. We are proud of them."

Why weren't you "honest" in your statement to the troops, Mr. Murtha? You criticized the President out of one side of your mouth, saying he should have told the troops that their mission was done and we needed to cut and run; yet you cannot bring yourself to say the same to your own constituents. Could it be because of the inconvenient fact that those soldier-constituents who do believe in their mission; and believe that there is indeed more to do before we are successful in that mission--could it be because that those soldier-constituents also vote (as do their families)?

It certainly begs the question: which John Murtha are the voters of Pennsylvania's 12th CD actually getting?

Will the REAL John Murtha please stand up?