MR. RUSSERT: What’s your response?
REP. MURTHA... We can go to Okinawa.
MR. RUSSERT: But it’d be tough to have a timely response from Okinawa.
REP. MURTHA: Well, it—you know, they—when I say Okinawa, I, I’m saying troops in Okinawa.
Posted on 06/27/2006 11:05:53 PM PDT by smoothsailing
06/28/2006
Murtha claims he was misquoted
U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Johnstown) says he was quoted out of context on two recent occasions.
The first occasion, he said, was coverage in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on his appearance in Florida over the weekend.
Murtha said, "I was recently misquoted following a speech I gave at a Veterans forum at the Florida International University Biscayne Campus on June 24, 2006. During the speech, I made a point that our international credibility was suffering, particularly due to our continued military presence in Iraq and that we were perceived as an occupying force. For illustrative purposes, I provided the example of a recent Pew Poll which indicates a greater percentage of people in 10 of 14 foreign countries consider the U.S. in Iraq a danger to world peace than consider Iran or North Korea a danger to world peace.
Murtha added, "It is imperative that these issues be discussed in an open and informative manner. I will continue to insist that this administration face the true realities of its policies with respect to Iraq and insist that they change direction."
In response to the misquotes, the Web site www.theinfozone.net e-mailed a Miami Herald reporter who also covered the event. The following is excerpted from a story posted on the Web site:
"The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Murtha as saying, 'American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran' to a crowd of more than 200 in North Miami Saturday afternoon.
"In the article, reporter Elizabeth Baier quoted several other of Congressman John Murtha's statements in her article, as well as a quote from others at the event, but did not quote the comments alleged to have been said by Murtha in the first paragraph of her article. Melissa Sanchez of the Miami Herald, replying to an e-mail, says that while Murtha made the comment, 'That was in reference to international polls. It was not so much his own conjecture, but a conclusion drawn from polls in various countries.'
"So this alleged and most controversial statement written by Baier appears to have taken his comments out of context."
Statement on redeploying to the perimeter
In a recent appearance on "Meet the Press," host Tim Russert asked Murtha to explain where our troops could be stationed if they redeployed from Iraq.
Murtha replied: "Kuwait's one that will take us. Qatar, we already have bases in Qatar. (Also in) Bahrain. All those countries are willing to take the United States...
We don't have to be right there. We can go to Okinawa. We can redeploy there almost instantly."
Murtha has repeatedly explained that his plan calls for the redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq at the earliest practicable date and a quick reaction U.S. force and over-the-horizon presence of U.S. Marines to be deployed to the region if needed.
He further explained, "I have said several times that we could deploy a quick reactionary force from Kuwait, Bahrain or Qatar or could deploy a larger contingency of Marines from Okinawa or the United States, if needed.
"We currently have a Marine division headquartered in Okinawa, thus logistics and existing facilities are already in place. Additionally, during the course of this war, Marines at the battalion level or lower have already been deployed from Okinawa to Iraq," Murtha said.
"But let me be clear, these forces should only be deployed to Iraq if our own national security is at risk or if the security of our allies in the region is threatened. These forces should NOT be used to intervene in the case of growing sectarian violence in Iraq. The Iraqis must settle their own civil war," said Murtha.
©The Herald Standard 2006
LOL! Some do say that Murtha stinks. To which I reply,"like sh*t he does"!
He hasn't really acknowledged he has an opponent yet. But I think that will change after this upcoming fundraising report is released. :-)
I don't believe I would want to live in a world living under any kind of world peace that the USA is considered a threat to.
The problem for Murtha is that the (D-Moonbat)s need a constant supply of red meat in order to be happy. If he moderates his statements for a week or two, the anti-war freakazoids will turn on him in a heartbeat.
So he has to keep sticking his foot in that dogpile, time after time. All Diana Irey has to do is point it out to the good folks of Western PA, every time he does.
Yup. :-) Now would be a good time for some folks to write letters to the editor of the Uniontown Herald Standard, pointing out some of the things mentioned on this thread.
Good grief. Should have said, "So Murtha used a poll to bash the US--but he doesn't BELIEVE the poll?"
MR. RUSSERT: What’s your response?
REP. MURTHA... We can go to Okinawa.
MR. RUSSERT: But it’d be tough to have a timely response from Okinawa.
REP. MURTHA: Well, it—you know, they—when I say Okinawa, I, I’m saying troops in Okinawa.
Well boohoo. And BS as well. That may have been the point he was making, but it's total BS. I have spent the last week with some family members who work for a gov't agency on foreign soil and their comments indicate that of all the countries in the world, the US is the one most concerned with PC. As much as the libs in this country want us to believe that even the Brits take us to task for the "heavy-handed" way we deal with the world, even they, when living on foreign soil, have considerably less respect for local customs than do our citizens.
IMO, if our credibility in the world arena is suffering, it's because the international (and national) news media reports what maggots like Murtha say as if they carry some weight. I have a brother who has travelled in several parts of the world, and he was shocked on his last trip to Germany (3 or 4 years ago) to find that most Germans he ran into believe that EVERYONE in the US hates Bush and was against the war. Why? Because that's what their version of CNN told them was going on. And that's a quote.
"So this alleged and most controversial statement written by Baier appears to have taken his comments out of context."
Call the whaaaambulance.
Murtha replied: "Kuwait's one that will take us. Qatar, we already have bases in Qatar. (Also in) Bahrain. All those countries are willing to take the United States...
WTH?? This guy looks like even more of a moron when he tries to explain himself!! ACK!
Meant to ping you to 69.
"The Iraqis must settle their own civil war," said Murtha.
Seems like as good a place as any.
If he is basing the rest on this conclusion, no wonder his thought process is so deeply flawed.
He also seems to think it is somehow better to cut and hide over the hill somewhere and retake ground we now hold if we need to be present. That costs lives.
Did this guy ever have a combat command???
I sure as heck hope not.
You and me both!
Melissa Sanchez will say anything to cover Muthra's ass, she's as liberal as they come.
"American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran' to a crowd of more than 200 in North Miami Saturday afternoon."
Okay, my brain is fuzzy, I've read it twice and had three sips of coffee. Did he or didn't he say that? I remain confused.
Fire Murtha Now! Spread the word. Support Diana Irey. http://www.irey.com
Next Murtha is going to say he has memory loss, on the statements he keeps making.
[Mrs T]
That's okay. Our memories are pretty good. Hopefully so are memories of the 12th district's voters.
I'm sure he doesn't comprehend but I don't believe there are any meds they can prescribe for dementia and his rantings indicate its onset.
Good point. It only shows his lack of integrity by coming back now and saying he was misquoted. He clearly intended to use the poll to support his plan for cutting and running and I'm sure he's gotten a lot of flak from his own party for saying it publicly even though privately they themselves believe it.
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