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November 22, 2005

I Expect You To Die, Mr. Murtha

Much has been made of John Murtha's recent advocation of some kind of pullout of troops from Iraq. I have a couple of gut reactions and a thought.

The first gut reaction came when I saw that he is something like a 16 term congressman. Who the hell gets to be an incumbent for 16 terms? I'm not kidding. Check this out from his website:

He had a long and distinguished 37-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps, retiring from the Marine Corps Reserve as a colonel in 1990; and he has been serving the people of the 12th Congressional District since 1974, one of only 131 people in the nation's history to have served more than 30 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and one of only 224 Members of Congress who have served 30 or more years.

Where's Newt Gingrich when you need him? Now clearly the guy must be loved in rural Western Pennsylvania and nothing short of a cardiac arrest is going to unseat him, but damn! My gut reaction is that you cannot be somebody so anonymous for 30 years unless you are a study in mediocrity. In other words, this outburst is probably the most controversial thing he's ever done in his career, which takes me to my second gut reaction.

It turns out that Murtha advocated a pullout from Mogadishu back in the day. So he's a Marine Colonel and no doubt he 'supports the troops' and is probably operating, given the above, from a non-aggressive standpoint. In other words, there's nothing he sees in this mission worth another soldier dying. That is rightly called a conservative attitude, or hedging. Now I'd say there's a huge difference between being a master at congressional pork wrangling & defense appropriations and being a military strategist. My gut tells me that this is the kind of congressman who'd rather invest in armored troop transports for the GIs than more Blackhawk helos. In other words, this guy is Defense, not Offense.

It is not without a sense of irony that I recognize that somebody who is bent on saving lives rather than expending them in combat wants to abandon Iraqis and leave them defenseless. Anything that is fatiguing and killing our GIs in Iraq is going to rock the world of the Iraqis without us.

Murtha's an old coot who has gotten a bit too plump. Thirty years inside the beltway getting pork for defense spending in Western Pennsylvania does not, a military strategist make. I think he's lost his edge, if he ever had it. Soldiers die. They live to fight and die if necessary, and it's something I think Murtha has forgotten. They do so others who can't defend themselves don't have to. That's their job. I don't buy his patriotic, ex-military cred on this one. Sparing the military the light pain it is suffering in Iraq is ignoble at best.

Hey old soldier, please fade away.

Posted by mbowen at November 22, 2005 05:45 AM

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Comments

Am I the only one to get the reference to the movie "Goldfinger"?

Posted by: Scott Ferguson [TypeKey Profile Page] at November 22, 2005 08:23 PM

If you care about the direction of this nation, please take 60 seconds and read the following:

Jesus said that only He is the way, the truth and the light. All sin will be eventually exposed to the light of truth ... even the sins of our nation.

Since 9/11, only ONE author has endeavored to tell the WHOLE truth and offer a definitive solution to the War on Terror. That's Mike Green, Content Editor and award-winning columnist for the Ashland Daily Tidings (www.dailytidings.com). For 3 years he painstakingly researched government declassified documents released by the NSA and CIA, sifted through thousands of articles published in the media, conducted in-depth interviews and documented events, quotes by leaders, etc.

In short, Mike did an exhaustive investigative work of a highly complex issue and wrote in plain English a comprehensive easy-to-understand story that provides an insight that will tilt the current paradigm of every reader.

It is imperative that every truth-seeker in America read this important work. Without political propaganda or prejudice, Mike Green presents the unadulterated truth about the U.S. War on Terror.

Forget what you've heard on the news. Dismiss what the government and political parties have preached over the past three years. Toss your copy of the 9/11 Commission Report in the trash.

Mike Green offers plain-spoken step-by-step accounting of America's involvement in the Middle East, including our friendships with every so-called enemy of the United States, beginning in 1953 to the present day.

You will be astounded to learn information that you will never hear in the mainstream media.

* The U.S. Government built the Iranian military as well as its secret police force, and shared top secret nuclear technology freely with this Muslim nation, that we now regard as one of the top targets on our list of enemies. Why?

* The U.S. assisted a Muslim nation in an invasion of another Muslim nation. We supplied chemical WMDs and bilions of dollars in credit and military hardware and technology. We subsequently invaded that same country only months after seeking to strengthen our friendly ties. Why?

* The U.S. claims a desire to establish a democracy in Iraq, yet when a Muslim democratic government existed in the Middle East, the U.S. undermined that government, overthrew the democratically elected leader and installed a dictator. Why?

* The Muslim Brotherhood, which is the mother of all the militant Muslim organizations worldwide, did not establish a decision to go to war with the United States until 1991 ... in retaliation for a flagrant action by the U.S. government. What was that action?

* 11 presidents have maintained a consistent policy in the Middle East that has moved the United States closer to war with Islam each year and each decade over the past half-century. But prior to 1991, the U.S. had no fear of Islam ... even "radical Islam." What was the POLICY of America and the decision in 1991 that led directly to the attacks of 9/11 and the current state of war in Iraq?

Mike Green answers all of these questions and so many more in his new book, "The WHOLE truth about the U.S. War on Terror: Answers to every question you never knew to ask."

Read excerpts or purchase the book at www.TheTruthAboutTerror.com

"This book is required reading for every American." Bill Meyer KMED Morning Talk Host (Southern Oregon)

Food for thought ...


In the debate over Iraq, history seems to be the only arbiter of the truth.

In the fall of 1990, in a closed-door meeting of president George H. Bush with the Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff (then Colin Powell) and the Secretary of Defense (then Dick Cheney), the decision
to invade Iraq for the first time was made by daddy Bush with only two words, "Do it."

This decision was made unilaterally within the White House on October 30, 1990.

In contrast to that meeting, a previous meeting took place on July 25, 1990 in the palace of Saddam
Hussein. Bush's ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie was sent to speak with Hussein about two things:
strengthening the friendship between Iraq and the U.S. government, and lowering the price of oil (then $25 a
barrel). Hussein expressed in detail his intent to settle a specific dispute with Kuwait, even as his
troops were amassed along the border. Glaspie responded that the U.S. had no interest in the
Arab-Arab dispute.

Eight days after Glaspie was appeasing Saddam, president Bush declared to the world that Saddam was a
villain. Within 3 months, Bush uttered the two words that would send American men and women into the
deserts of Kuwait and eventually Iraq ... a place our military would never leave.

Twelve years later, Bush's son would eventually give the order to finish the job initially begun by his dad
... again this would be done against the advice and support of the United Nations and in conjunction with
support from our usual ally, Great Britain.

In a not-so-coincidental de ja vu, the very two men who were in the room when Bush (41) decided to invade
Iraq in 1990, were in the room when Bush (43) authorized another invasion in 2003.

History reveals that of all the high-ranking officials in American government from the time the U.S. first
initiated a relationship with Saddam Hussein, only ONE held a position and decision-making power from the
beginning to the present day. That person is former president George H. Bush.

Bush was Vice President under Reagan for 8 years while we supported Iraq's invasion of Iran. He was president
for four years, during which time we maintained support for Saddam despite his tyrannical rule, use of
chemical weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), human rights trangressions and "invasion of his neighbor"
Iran. Bush (41) is a former head of the CIA and familiar with all of its inner workings. He
currently holds an unprecedented role of great influence during his son's tenure in the White House.

I submit to the nation that the WHOLE truth has yet to be told regarding our foray into Iraq.

And as a veteran of 12 years serving this country, I am concerned that we have forgotten our role as a
citizenry which is responsible for maintaining a vigil upon those leaders who would sacrifice those heroes,
that would willingly die to protect you and me, upon an altar of political ignorance and public apathy.

The brave men and women of the military deserve a legitimate and moral reason for risking their lives,
rather than to kill and be killed in an effort to advance an unknown agenda ... whose truth can only be
revealed through a thorough study of the U.S. involvement in the Middle East beginning with the
CIA-led "Project Ajax" in 1953.

The WHOLE truth has yet to be told.

www.TheTruthAboutTerror.com

Posted by: Mike Green at November 25, 2005 12:15 AM

That's the classiest piece of spam I've ever seen.

Posted by: Cobb [TypeKey Profile Page] at November 25, 2005 12:29 AM