Posted on 01/02/2006 5:36:07 PM PST by jmc1969
Rep. John Murtha, a key Democratic voice who favors pulling U.S. troops from Iraq, said in remarks airing on Monday that he would not join the U.S. military today.
A decorated Vietnam combat veteran who retired as a colonel after 37 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Murtha told ABC News' "Nightline" program that Iraq "absolutely" was a wrong war for President George W. Bush to have launched.
"Would you join (the military) today?," he was asked in an interview taped on Friday.
"No," replied Murtha of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees defense spending and one of his party's leading spokesmen on military issues.
"And I think you're saying the average guy out there who's considering recruitment is justified in saying 'I don't want to serve'," the interviewer continued.
"Exactly right," said Murtha, who drew White House ire in November after becoming the first ranking Democrat to push for a pullout of U.S. forces from Iraq as soon as it could be done safely.
"Let me tell you, war is a nasty business. It sears the soul," he said, choking up. "And it made a difference. The shadow of those killings stay with you the rest of your life."
Asked for comment, a Defense Department spokesman, Lt. Col. John Skinner, said: "We have an all-volunteer military. People are free to choose whether they serve or not."
"Our freedom of speech in this country allows all of us the opportunity to voice an opinion. It's one of our great strengths as a nation," he added.
(Excerpt) Read more at alertnet.org ...
There are some like him but most are not. many of them had to many kids or careers that have taken off but still want to serve and help the country.
This ba$tard needs to have his epaulets sheared, his saber snapped in two and be drum rolled out the front gate of Fort Apache! Frikkin' pathetic! Is there some way he can be ex-communicated from the Corps? I'm not a Marine or a former one but this clown is a total embarrassment to the Globe and Anchor society as far as I'm concerned!
"...I did spend 29 years in the Air Force, and I served in Korea and Vietnam and spent 7 years as a POW in Vietnam and more than half of that in solitary confinement. I know what it is like to be far from home, serving your country, risking your life, hearing that America doesn't care about you as happened in Vietnam..."
Sam Johnson Viet Nam Vet Hero AND POW gets it PING!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1527080/posts
murtha : Pay attention
You have been hanging around to long with cut and run hanoi kerry
The Brothers and Sisters on The Wall know what you have done.
And before you complain about me, I was there also.
DISMISSED!
I'm pretty sure Little Johnny Murtha couldn't cut it in today's military so he shouldn't flatter himself. What an idiot.
Darn it!!!! Young men get to have all the fun.
that lady rep told him that and almost got rioted on by the commu-Dems.
You have all the datas i needed about this man... thanks.. i agree with your opinion..
So the thousands who continue to volunteer, are they lacking some common sense, Mr. Murtha? Everyday, every minute and every hour, young men and women continue to volunteer to serve their country. Not only that, look at the reenlistment rates of this volunteer force.
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade (actually less than a battalion) was a contingent of Communist Party USA members sent into the Spanish Civil War on the Stalinist side. Most never returned as they were viewed as nothing but cannon fodder.
Murtha has disgraced his service. Others are not bound to show respect. What you did in uniform decades ago does not make your word golden forevermore.
I hope the rocks fall on him!
Like many congressmen, he carried out his reserve duties at his own pace and liking until he got another pension, and the votes of patriots each time he ran, because it used to be helpful for a person seeking votes to have a military record.
Now that is not a necessity if you are a democrat, indeed, it can even be a liability in a lot of congressional districts.
I'm still proud of my twelve years of active duty, and I didn't even finish the last eight to get a pension.
One could certainly infer his statement to mean that civilians should not enlist, and servicemembers shouldn't reenlist. He clearly disapproves of military service for anyone right now, which suggests to me that he would disagree with anyone who felt that going in or staying in was the right thing to do.
I'm going to go for the 'Understatement of the Night Award' and say that this is not a typical point of view for a former Marine.
What a wussy wieinie!!!
And OF COURSE Nightline will give him all the time he wants to spew his cowardly rhetoric about Bush and the military!!
What a wussy wieinie!!!
And OF COURSE Nightline will give him all the time he wants to spew his cowardly rhetoric about Bush and the military!!
"I hope I never live long enough to see U.S. troops in the field and not feel the desire to be there with them. "
Steel Wolf, that's beautiful...thank you.
I think this is the 2nd or 3rd time that Nightline has interviewed Murtha...but, I don't know if they have even tried to interview Sam Johnson...
Good point (#65).
(From) XXXXXX
November 21, 2005
Via Facsimile to: (814) 539-6229
Representative John Murtha
P.O. Box 780
Johnstown, PA 15907
Representative Murtha:
During the dark days of the American Revolution the Commanding General, George Washington seemed unable to win any victories. There were wholesale desertions, troops were starving, the fledgling government was sporadic with money, food and ammunition in short supply. Out of this darkness emerged a genuine American Hero. This officer brilliantly led his troops in combat and though seriously, and almost mortally wounded, won victory after victory for the desperate and beleaguered American Continental Army.
After helping to turn the tide of war in the favor of the Americans, this officer's fame grew as did his prestige, but his prowess on the battlefield, his courage under fire and indeed all of his life, is forgotten because of one act. His name is now synonymous with "traitor" in the dictionary. General Benedict Arnold, like you, had a brilliant military career of courage, honor, and sacrifice. Like you, in my opinion, he was a traitor to his country and to his oath as an American soldier. It is indeed fitting that you are member of the same political party as another traitor and seditionist, former Lieutenant John Kerry USN, who betrayed his country, not only on the very floor of the House of Representatives that you now serve, but also, secretly, in the presence of our enemies in Paris, France.
Unlike you, he is a self proclaimed warrior and you earned your decorations, but the pair of you forgot one important thing. The United States of America and indeed the world are at war. We are at war with an implacable enemy. An enemy of racist, bigoted fanatics whose sole goal in life is to destroy the people of the United States of America, their culture and their religion. More American civilians have died on U.S. soil in this war than died in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, and Desert Storm put together.
We are at war, Representative Murtha, and your actions and conduct give aid and comfort to our enemies. Just in case you have forgotten the definition of treason and sedition, I have attached Webster's definition as Tabs A and B to this letter.
A wise man once said, "There are no former Marines, only dead Marines."
He was wrong. You are not a Marine. You have lost the right to use that title. You have dishonored all of those who have fought and died up to the day you stood on the floor of the House of Representatives and demanded that we withdraw immediately. You lied to the press, when you said you did not make that statement. I watched you make that statement. Albeit your Bill, submitted, which I have also read, added a caveat, "as soon as practicable." That is pure horseshit and you know it. Yes, Representative Murtha, you have given aid and comfort to our enemies in a time of war. You have given them hope, which they have fast been loosing, due to all of the victories and sacrifice by our sons and daughters on the field of battle in Iraq and Afghanistan. You have been honored by our enemies on the front page of Al Jazeera.
No, Representative Murtha, you are no longer a Marine. Your soul is dead. Your honor is dead, and without a soul or honor, you are nothing.
Be advised, my son is a Marine Officer. He has commanded men in battle through two (2) tours and he is due to return to Iraq on a third tour. If he should be harmed in any way as a result of your actions on the floor of the House this week, I will do everything in my power to see to it that you are driven from office and that you are charged and tried for treason and sedition.
The Marine Officer whose message was read on the House Floor by fellow member of Congress, Jean Schmidt, was right. You are a coward. Marines do not cut and run.
Fortunately, your obesity prevents you from wearing your Marine Uniform with even a semblance of pride, but I know your face. If I am in a room when you arrive, you will not enter. If you are in a room, when I arrive, you will leave. It is as simple as that.
OUT.
(Signed)
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