Murtha's call for phased withdrawal puts Republican attack machine in high gear

The call of a 37 year veteran Marine and staunch supporter of the military for a measured, phased withdrawal of U.S. troops to positions just outside Iraq has sent Republicans into full attack mode.

In what has now become boringly monotonous in it's predictibility, the Republicans are doing what they do, attacking by any means possible the messenger, immediately setting out to confuse and distort their views, and launching a massive PR campaign to make, in this case, a man with a 37 year career in the Marines, (37 years more military service than Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, etc.) who was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service medal, and who's served over 30 years in congress specializing in defense issues, including being the past chair and current ranking minority member of the Defense Appropriations Committee, into some sort of wussy flower child.

In response to Wolf Blitzer reading him the statements Cheney and Bush had made blasting Murtha for his views, Murtha replied, "I like guys who've never been there that criticize us who've been there. I like that. I like guys who got five deferments and never been there and send people to war, and then don't like to hear suggestions about what needs to be done." Cheney got four deferments to avoid service in Vietnam, Bush's efforts to avoid combat are well documented.

The meaningless, distorting, and illogical cliches are being trotted out by the bushel in an effort to mischaracterize Murtha's proposals, and almost instantaneously the army of Republican attack functionaries had sprung into action. They plan to launch a trumped up ethics investigation of Murtha having to do with his brother's PR firm, and blast faxed to their sympathizers a complete list of every single utterance Murtha has ever said regarding Iraq going back since before the invasion began.

This is the party of responsibility and compassion, the one that pledged to bring dignity and honor back to government? The GOP, God's Own Party?

The smears were typically reckless, disgusting, off-base and vicious.

On the floor of the house, it was all out war.

Rookie Ohio congresswoman Jean Schmidt, who narrowly won office over a Democrat veteran who had volunteered for service in Iraq, read a supposed letter from a soldier in her district that directed a comment to Murtha saying, cowards cut and run, Marines never do. This provoked an instant howling, booing protest from the Democratic side of the aisle and Schmit was soon forced to ask that her loathsome statement be withdrawn.

Other wingers quickly picked up the odd argument that Murtha had voted in favor of instituting the draft as some sort of weird suggestion that fact means he supports the war. Of course, what they're not able to comprehend is that instituting a draft most likely WOULD have resulted in an end to the war. When the wealthy and well-connected see their loved ones shipped off to the place they loudly and proudly advocate sending other people's kids to, they'd join the chorus calling for the war to end. Murtha was simply asking that the suffering and sacrifice be shared equally by all Americans.

Then perhaps the moment that defines the current crop of right wing radicals occupying the House of Representitives. Rep. Duncan Hunter, a person known for his extreme right wing shenanigans, pulled one of the most detestible and irresponsible stunts seen in congress in decades.

Showing that they'd rather play stupid games than debate the issue at hand, in a rank insult to the widely respected Murtha, the Republicans introduced a resolution which completely perverted Murtha's proposal, calling for the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq.

The were able to force a vote on this counterfit, sham bill and of course, all Dems but three voted it down.

These people aren't there to lead, they're there to defend Bush and cling to power.
The difference between the Republicans and Democrats is that the Republicans regard the vast U.S. military as some faceless tool of power to be used at their pleasure. They treat it like some awesome killing machine, the power of which they somehow transfer onto themselves. To them, the military is like a weak man's gun, something to make up for their inadequacies and somehow make them feel powerful.

Democrats see the military as made up of real-live American men and women who sacrifice and serve admirably, and who all too often are sent to suffer incredible hardship, death, and severe wounds. The military are our sons and daughters, moms, dads, sisters, and brothers. Before we ask them to continue dying and suffering, Murtha and the Dems think we should snap out of the fog of illusion the Republicans have manufactured and face facts: the war is unwinable as it's being waged.

But the right spring to their feet to characterize any attempt at sanity as "cutting and running" or somehow not supporting the troops (read not supporting them) or the most reprehensible, giving aid and comfort to the enemy or even supporting terrorists.

But two of the lunatic and troubling cliche arguments they trot out thousands of times when someone dares talk of some sort of sane policy are these.

1. That if we withdraw and take our service men and women out of the shooting gallery that is Iraq, where they're nothing but targets, that it will dishonor the 2000 plus who've already lost their lives.

Let me see now. We must honor the thousands killed and maimed in Iraq by .......sending MORE troops to being killed and maimed, which wil mean that, unless we send even more after that to be attacked and killed, it will dishonor those newly slaughtered troops and their families, which means we need to send more..... Ouch! Stop it!

2. The so-called "flypaper" excuse. That unless we fight "them" in Iraq, we'll have to fight them here, presumably hand-to-hand on the streets of Keokuk, IA.
This is an oldie, but goodie for keeping the rubes suitably scared and irrational.

Let's all think that one through, shall we?
The right is always howling that those opposed to Bush and the "war" don't "support the troops", right? So let's look at this from the American fighting men and women's perspective.
Republicans are saying that the purpose of our service men and women being sent into the middle of a hopeless un-winable situation with targets painted on their backs, literal sitting ducks for insurgent attack, is so we won't get attacked on here??

So our brave fighting men and women are simply people being fed into a killing machine, as if they're a sacrifice to the terror gods or something, to prevent an attack here??!!! That must make them feel special. Great morale builder I'm sure.

You guys just stay there getting your arms and legs blown off, being blinded and maimed. Good job keeping those "terrists" busy! You're doing a great service in providing a target to keep them so busy they can't find a spare minute to launch an attack here.

Have you EVER heard more reprehensible and indefensible rationales for continuing to send brave men and women to their deaths?


The transcript of Murtha's statement is important if you want to understand exactly what he is calling for. Arm yourself with the truth and you can see how brazenly dishonest the Republican attacks and smears are. As is plainly evident, Murtha's pricipled, well-informed, and passionate call for an end to the madness is most certainly not a call to "cut and run" or simply pull out and turn our backs on Iraq. You owe it to yourself to find out what has the Republicans in a full frenzy to attack, destroy, villify, and harrass, anyone who dare point out the reality of what they've lead us into and mischaracterize this courageous congressman's reasoned plea.

What are your thoughts and observations on this raging issue? Is beginning the process of a gradual withdrawal of our troops to positions just out of Iraq in a way that ensures their safety something which needs to be addressed, or is it, as Republican's suggest, just crazy and we should continue to send lives and billions to Iraq for what may end up being generations?