Kudos To Murtha

I finally had enough of a break to sit down and read the entire transcript of
Rep. John Murtha’s press conference today and I am highly impressed (full
transcript available
here). We
have constantly been inundated with the the continuous line of “Democrats have
no plan”. Well after reading this, Republicans must be working hard to update
their strategy because it is now evident that Democrats do have a plan. I will
get into that plan in a bit, but first I would like to share the powerful
opening to Murtha’s statement.

“The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy
wrapped in illusion. The American public is way ahead of us. The United
States and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq, but it is time
for a change in direction. Our military is suffering. The future of our
country is at risk. We cannot continue on the present course. It is evident
that continued military action is not in the best interests of the United
States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf Region. “General
Casey said in a September 2005 hearing, “the perception of occupation in
Iraq is a major driving force behind the insurgency.” General Abizaid said
on the same date, “Reducing the size and visibility of the coalition forces
in Iraq is part of our counterinsurgency strategy.”

“For 2 ½ years, I have been concerned about the U.S. policy and the plan
in Iraq. I have addressed my concerns with the Administration and the
Pentagon and have spoken out in public about my concerns. The main reason
for going to war has been discredited. A few days before the start of the
war I was in Kuwait – the military drew a red line around Baghdad and said
when U.S. forces cross that line they will be attacked by the Iraqis with
Weapons of Mass Destruction – but the US forces said they were prepared.
They had well trained forces with the appropriate protective gear.

“We spend more money on Intelligence that all the countries in the world
together, and more on Intelligence than most countries GDP. But the
intelligence concerning Iraq was wrong. It is not a world intelligence
failure. It is a U.S. intelligence failure and the way that intelligence was
misused.

He has brought out the important fact that the American public is following
this war. If you don’t believe it then I suggest looking at recent polls. While
the public’s confidence in this administration evaporates into nothingness,
Bush’s plan remains strong and intact – do the same thing and attack Democrats.
We all know that there has been terrible mistakes along the way in this war, yet
Bush refuses to admit them. He is like that little kid trying to constantly deny
any wrong doing even though you saw him do his wrong. He covers up his mistakes
by attacking his opponents. Well now his opponents have struck back.

We have continued to follow this same course for 2 1/2 years now. It has cost
us hundreds of billions of dollars and almost 2100 soldiers. Our country is no
more safe and our diplomatic relations with the rest of the world are severely
damaged. The only way to make amends on these problems is to go a different
route and prove to the world we are doing what it takes. Right now our strategy
is bomb them, repair it, then bomb again. This is not working. Here is the
course of action that  Rep. Murtha suggests we take.

Murtha Resolution To Redeploy U.S. Forces from Iraq: IN THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES

November 17, 2005

MR. MURTHA introduced the following joint resolution, which was referred
to the Committee on _____________________

Whereas Congress and the American People have not been shown clear,
measurable progress toward establishment of stable and improving security in
Iraq or of a stable and improving economy in Iraq, both of which are
essential to “promote the emergence of a democratic government”;

Whereas additional stabilization in Iraq by U, S. military forces cannot
be achieved without the deployment of hundreds of thousands of additional U
S. troops, which in turn cannot be achieved without a military draft;

Whereas more than $277 billion has been appropriated by the United States
Congress to prosecute U.S. military action in Iraq and Afghanistan;

Whereas, as of the drafting of this resolution, 2,079 U.S. troops have
been killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom;

Whereas U.S. forces have become the target of the insurgency,

Whereas, according to recent polls, over 80% of the Iraqi people want
U.S. forces out of Iraq;

Whereas polls also indicate that 45% of the Iraqi people feel that the
attacks on U.S. forces are justified;

Whereas, due to the foregoing, Congress finds it evident that continuing
U.S. military action in Iraq is not in the best interests of the United
States of America, the people of Iraq, or the Persian Gulf Region, which
were cited in Public Law 107-243 as justification for undertaking such
action;

Therefore be it

I) Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in

2) Congress assembled,

3) That:

4) Section 1. The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by
direction of Congress, is

5) hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the
earliest practicable

6) date.

7) Section 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon
presence of U.S Marines

8) shall be deployed in the region.

9) Section 3 The United States of America shall pursue security and
stability in Iraq

10) through diplomacy.

This is the best plan I have heard yet. We would not be cutting and running
as some are suggesting. Instead, we would be moving our troops out yet keeping a
special force in the region to respond should Iraq need us. This could also be
complimented with other foreign troops as diplomacy once again takes it course.

Now the Republicans will have to find a new way to attack Democrats. They are
fighting back by giving a plan that make sense to the American people. Dennis
Hastert has already come out swinging at the Democrats but that is to be
expected. His speech mimics that of something George Bush would say. If you care
to read it you can do so at

Raw Story. As far as this plan goes, we need to give it a shot considering
our current route of action is not working.

You can view the video of Murtha’s speech at
Crooks and Liars.