Posted by
on Wednesday, February 14, 2007 7:18:32 PM
The caucus of retreat and defeat has decided to up the ante a bit. No longer content with merely voicing their opposition in non-binding resolutions, and wasting time and taxpayer money with the debate itself, John Murtha is taking steps to literally kill the war effort. Working hand in hand with antiwar groups, Rep. Murtha has decided to slowly bleed us out of Iraq:
Led by Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Pa., and supported by several well-funded anti-war groups, the coalition's goal is to limit or sharply reduce the number of U.S. troops available for the Iraq conflict, rather than to openly cut off funding for the war itself. ...
... As described by participants, the goal is crafted to circumvent the biggest political vulnerability of the anti-war movement -- the accusation that it is willing to abandon troops in the field. That fear is why many Democrats have remained timid in challenging Bush, even as public support for the president and his Iraq policies have plunged.
Murtha and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have decided that they must take the lead in pressuring not only Republicans but also cautious Senate Democrats to take steps more aggressive than nonbinding resolutions in challenging the Bush administration.
The House strategy is being crafted quietly, even as the chamber is immersed this week in an emotional, albeit mostly symbolic, debate over a resolution expressing opposition to Bush's plan to "surge" 21,500 more troops into Iraq.
Murtha, the powerful chairman of the defense subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, will seek to attach a provision to an upcoming $93 billion supplemental spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan. It would restrict the deployment of troops to Iraq unless they meet certain levels adequate manpower, equipment and training to succeed in combat. That's a standard Murtha believes few of the units Bush intends to use for the surge would be able to meet.
In addition, Murtha, acting with the backing of the House Democratic leadership, will seek to limit the time and number of deployments by soldiers, Marines and National Guard units to Iraq, making it tougher for Pentagon officials to find the troops to replace units that are scheduled to rotate out of the country. Additional funding restrictions are also being considered by Murtha, such as prohibiting the creation of U.S. military bases inside Iraq, dismantling the notorious Abu Ghraib prison and closing the American detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"There's a D-Day coming in here, and it's going to start with the supplemental and finish with the '08 [defense] budget," said Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, who chairs the Air and Land Forces subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee.
Lidsten to me very carefully: John Murtha is a dishonorable, cowardly piece of garbage politician playing games with our national security. I do hope those idiotic voters in Pennsylvania are happy this s**t-bird is in office because most of us hate him being there. I know of no Marine that would recognize John Murtha as a respected former member of that honored brotherhood. If the kids were here, they'd be urging people to stomr the phone banks at the Capitol and demand Murtha end this malarkey. Better yet, make it known to the new "Blue Dog Dems" in the House that they're about to lose their jobs in 2008 if John Murtha gets his way. Bryan over at Hot Air has a few words on this matter:
If they do what they’re apparently planning to do, “slow bleed” will be a very apt description. Those doing the bleeding, slowly, will be US troops. ...
... If you oppose the war and truly want us out of Iraq, put your own name on the line and move to cut funding. Put your name on your policy. If, as Barack Obama said, you think we’re wasting lives in this war, then the honorable thing to do is to stop that waste immediately. Put your name on your policy as well as its outcome. Not conduct a “slow bleed” strategy that is the political equivalent of the strategy that the terrorists and insurgents have themselves deployed on the ground. We have truly reached a new low in this country when the Speaker of the House and her favorite henchman are running a strategy that will definitely get American troops killed for a war they lack the courage to stop in their own names.
I would view this as a form of domestic terrorism on the part of the Democrats in Congress supporting this man's utterly dishonest, devious, and disreputable strategy. I call on readers to get this spread around to their allies in the grass-roots, spread this around to bloggers throughout the blogosphere, and let's stop this man dead in his tracks. House Speaker Pelosi took the smackdown from the "Blue Dogs" when she wanted John Murtha as Majority Leader, and this was exactly why they didn't want him there. He's a loose cannon, and with thinking like this, he's going to end up getting more of our troops killed.
Sabrina McKinney