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Friendly Fire - John Murtha unites the Republicans.
WSJ Opinion Journal ^ | November 22, 2005 | Brendan Miniter

Posted on 11/22/2005 3:00:58 AM PST by KCRW

....Democrats might have seen this as a signal not to push too hard on the war lest they risk uniting a fractured Republican Party. But they didn't heed it. By midweek Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, introduced a resolution aimed at pushing political moderates to oppose the war in Iraq. His plan called for "redeploying" U.S. troops out of Iraq over the next six months, leaving a "rapid reaction force" in the region and then pursuing U.S. goals through "diplomatic" means. It was a crafted political proposal that was meant to be an alternative to "staying the course" while not calling for outright withdrawal. It was a return of "peace without victory." And it backfired...... It should now be clear--if it wasn't already--that the Democratic Party is the party of withdrawal. Had John Kerry won the election last year, the U.S. would today be packing its bags and preparing to leave Iraq under something similar to the Murtha plan. The fallout from that would be disastrous. "Rapid reaction force" or not, Iraq would descend into political chaos and then perhaps fall under the power of a dictator. Maybe Saddam Hussein himself would return, though there is no shortage of Saddam wannabes in that part of the world. Following that, no U.S. president for a generation or maybe two would have the political muscle to topple a rogue regime anywhere. In the meantime, the U.S. would be on the run, while terrorists and the dictators who nurture them would have the upper hand......

(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: murtha; republicans; unites
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Comment #1 Removed by Moderator

To: KCRW

Let's make sure this backfires on the Democrats. The politics of "peace without victory" should have ended with Vietnam- but clearly the Democrats are bringing it back. The Democrats do not want us to win in Iraq.


2 posted on 11/22/2005 3:04:03 AM PST by KCRW
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To: KCRW
By midweek Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, introduced a resolution aimed at pushing political moderates to oppose the war in Iraq. His plan called for "redeploying" U.S. troops out of Iraq

This old fart is doing the lying Dems.'s bidding, saying the words that they command him to.

The only thing missing when John 'White Flag' Murtha speaks is Edgar Bergen standing right beside him.

3 posted on 11/22/2005 3:05:22 AM PST by beyond the sea (Murtha: Redeployment - What .......Surrender? // “Victory is not a strategy”)
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To: beyond the sea

Murtha is this week's Cindy Sheehan.

Nuptials will be this Saturday at the headquarters of Moveon.org.


4 posted on 11/22/2005 3:07:53 AM PST by Loyal Buckeye
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To: Loyal Buckeye

Murtha's proposal: "Will you marry me, Cindy?"


5 posted on 11/22/2005 3:08:56 AM PST by beyond the sea (Murtha: Redeployment - What .......Surrender? // “Victory is not a strategy”)
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To: Loyal Buckeye

6 posted on 11/22/2005 3:10:35 AM PST by maggief
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To: KCRW

Your post in Response #1 was removed because it contained more material from the Opinion Journal piece.

Material from WSJ Opinion Journal needs to be excerpted and linked. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1111944/posts

Please do not post more material from an already excerpted story or editorial.


7 posted on 11/22/2005 3:20:29 AM PST by Sidebar Moderator
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To: KCRW

bump for later reading


8 posted on 11/22/2005 3:20:32 AM PST by Born Conservative ("Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." -Donald Rumsfeld)
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To: KCRW
"Iraq is the most visible front in the war on terror and is therefore a symbol for whether the political elites of this nation have what it takes to confront global terrorist networks. If politicians can't stomach going after terrorists who openly attack U.S. soldiers, they won't have what it takes to go after terrorists who hide in some of the most remote or ungoverned reaches of the world."

Or right here in the U.S. for that matter.

9 posted on 11/22/2005 3:20:54 AM PST by KDD (A wink is as good as a nod to a blind horse.)
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To: KDD

I guess the Dems would feel better if the terrorists were attacking our soldiers on American soil.


10 posted on 11/22/2005 3:23:13 AM PST by mainepatsfan
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To: KCRW

Someday perhaps I shall break satisfying wind near his final resting place.


11 posted on 11/22/2005 3:25:33 AM PST by langleyaction
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To: KCRW

"In war there is no substitute for victory."

- Douglas MacArthur


12 posted on 11/22/2005 3:25:43 AM PST by mainepatsfan
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To: Sidebar Moderator

Sorry


13 posted on 11/22/2005 3:28:36 AM PST by KCRW
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To: All
His plan called for "redeploying" U.S. troops out of Iraq over the next six months, leaving a "rapid reaction force" in the region and then pursuing U.S. goals through "diplomatic" means.

You all realize Murtha is calling on the Bush administration to do the same thing it's been publically PLANNING to do in Iraq, so that when we do draw down our troops as planned, the Democrats can claim it was THEIR idea?

He's obviously Kerry's replacement. He's the new dog assigned to change the terms of the political battle, since the left has lost every single other political attack on Iraq.

They said we would lose ten thousand of our young men in the Bloody House to House Fighting in Baghdad. That never came to pass. They said we could never win against the "insurgents" and that still isn't happening. They said Iraq would never develop a democratic government. They were wrong. They said the Iraqi Constitution was taking longer than scheduled. They turned out to be wrong. They predicted the Iraqi people would never ratify it. They were wrong. Now they've switched to the old favorite, demand the thing you know perfectly well is going to happen anyway, then syal the credit when it happens anyhow.

Different week, same crap.

14 posted on 11/22/2005 3:31:54 AM PST by cake_crumb (Leftist Credo: One Wing to Rule Them All and to the Dark Side Bind Them)
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To: KCRW
A hearty "how to toss your 73 years of life out the window" bump.



15 posted on 11/22/2005 3:38:43 AM PST by G.Mason (Send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do.)
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To: KCRW
Had John Kerry won the election last year, the U.S. would today be packing its bags and preparing to leave Iraq under something similar to the Murtha plan.

No, the U.S. wouldn't have any bags to pack.

16 posted on 11/22/2005 3:49:35 AM PST by mtbopfuyn (Legality does not dictate morality... Lavin)
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To: KCRW
The Democrats do not want us to win in Iraq.

They were hoping for defeat from the git-go. Murtha made it clear that defeat is not good enough and that SURRENDER is the only venue acceptable.

17 posted on 11/22/2005 3:51:14 AM PST by johnny7 (“You have a corpse in a car, minus a head, in the garage. Take me to it.”)
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To: beyond the sea

This Murtha thing reminds me of the old cereal commercials:
"Let's get Mikey, he'll eat it; he'll eat anything."

Just substitute Murtha for Mikey. Perhaps old Murtha is a little past his prime and he's become more maleable by his fellow Dems than he used to be.


18 posted on 11/22/2005 4:19:21 AM PST by Help!
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To: maggief

That is NO way to start the day..(g)..BTW..I thought i heard something last night about Cindy saying something really stupid yesterday..in a latter to Laura..Do you know what that was?


19 posted on 11/22/2005 5:12:05 AM PST by ken5050 (Ann Coulter needs to have children ASAP to pass on her gene pool....any volunteers?)
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To: mainepatsfan

BUMP!


20 posted on 11/22/2005 5:20:34 AM PST by MEG33 (GOD BLESS OUR ARMED FORCES)
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