The Washington Post editorial board weighs in on Rep. John Murtha's (D-PA) "slow bleed" strategy to end the war in Iraq.
Mr. Murtha's cynicism is matched by an alarming ignorance about conditions in Iraq. He continues to insist that Iraq "would be more stable with us out of there," in spite of the consensus of U.S. intelligence agencies that early withdrawal would produce "massive civilian casualties." He says he wants to force the administration to "bulldoze" the Abu Ghraib prison, even though it was emptied of prisoners and turned over to the Iraqi government last year. He wants to "get our troops out of the Green Zone" because "they are living in Saddam Hussein's palace"; could he be unaware that the zone's primary occupants are the Iraqi government and the U.S. Embassy?
It would be nice to believe that Mr. Murtha does not represent the mainstream of the Democratic Party or the thinking of its leadership. Yet when asked about Mr. Murtha's remarks Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered her support. Does Ms. Pelosi really believe that the debate she orchestrated this week was not "the real vote"? If the answer is yes, she is maneuvering her party in a way that can only do it harm.
Murtha's plan does have Pelosi's blessing:
On Thursday, Pelosi pulled together a small group of reporters from the nation's biggest newspapers to essentially endorse the Murtha strategy.
And the result is that the antiwar left has taken control of the Democrat(ic) leadership in the House of Representatives:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top Democrats are pushing a new strategy to block an escalation of the Iraq war by restricting President Bush's military options in a new wartime spending bill. The new approach -- backed by leading antiwar groups -- sets the stage for a high-stakes clash over the power of Congress to dictate the president's war strategy.
John Murtha is a natural ally of these antiwar groups. His behavior since the beginning of the war in Iraq has been disgraceful, and his hypocrisy involving our troops knows no bounds. That this man has any authority whatsoever over the funding of the war in Iraq is sickening.
Captain Ed concludes the Democrats cannot be trusted with national security:
Has John Murtha ever been anything more than incoherent on Iraq? He talks loudly but says next to nothing other than reiterate the need to declare defeat and bug out of Iraq. He can't even get his facts straight despite having spent the better part of two years making himself the leading Democratic voice on the war. Even the Washington Post can't help but notice that this Emperor has no clothes.
Despite this, Pelosi insists on following his leadership on Iraq policy. The Democrats have made the case yet again why they cannot be trusted with national security. They use bad information, faulty logic, and underhanded tactics to exploit it for partisan political purposes. John Murtha represents everything that is wrong with the Democrats on this debate. They are ill-informed and incoherent, unable to formulate a plan for victory but willing to sabotage American efforts anyway.
He is right.
***Update***
The Ace highlights this "gem" from the Washington Times:
"They won’t be able to continue. They won’t be able to do the deployment. They won’t have the equipment, they don’t have the training and they won’t be able to do the work. There’s no question in my mind." - John Murtha
He is betraying every single troop on active duty, not to mention the United States.
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