Murtha the Sage, Murtha the Good

Rep. Murtha, of the Party That Supports The Troops, says it's best that the average guy not become a troop in the first place. (Emphasis throughout this post is mine.)

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.

It is a human weakness of sorts that in arenas like politics or strategic endeavors you tend to view problems through the lens of your vocation and/or formative training. I mean, if you're an economist, everything has an economics explanation. If you're a statistician, everything can be explained by numbers. And so on.

I was too young at the time to fully understand the deep divisions Vietnam caused in the country. But Rep. Murtha seems to permanently view the world through Vietnam-colored glasses.

By what reasoning could Murtha possibly say that joining the one institution doing the most to protect us in this day and age of terrorism is not advisable? I've said it before I'll say it again, if this is what we've come to, we might as well throw open the gates and let the Huns in. We're doomed anyway. (Fortunately, there are still enough people in this country in retention of common sense and fortitude.)

But, lest ye lend too much credibility to Murtha, remember his comments that no one in Iraq is providing the Coalition Forces with information on the bad guys?

There's this article at the Marine Corps Times today:

U.S. and Iraqi troops operating in Baghdad are finding nearly twice the number of weapons caches they did months ago, a senior commander said.

Army Maj. Gen. William G. Webster, commander of Multinational Division-Baghdad, said the number of weapons caches found by his troops and Iraqi forces has swelled to about 92 percent over the number of discoveries six months ago. For example, during the summer, troops would find an average of eight to 10 weapons caches per week — and many of them were small, including small arms, ingredients to make improvised explosive devices and other materials. These days, U.S. and Iraqi forces are finding 15 to 20 large caches per week, said Webster, briefing Pentagon reporters Friday by video teleconference.
....
Why such an increase? The commander said it’s because more Iraqis are willing to share information with U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces.

"They are giving us more information that we’re turning into useable intelligence," he said.

It may be time to gently turn Rep. Murtha out to pasture.

A soldier with the 1st Battalion 327th Infantry Regiment walks through bushes as he looks for weapons caches during a patrol in the outskirts of the northern Iraqi city of Hawijah. Filippo Monteforte / Agence France-Presse

There was also this yesterday from MNF-Iraq:

U.S. Marines discovered more than ten metric tons of munitions hidden at 72 cache sites 39 km south of Fallujah during the week-long Operation Green Trident.

First Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 8 began the operation last week near the village of Al Latifiyah to search suspected locations for hidden weapon caches. More than 1,000 artillery and mortar rounds were unearthed along with scores of rocket propelled grenades and hand grenades. Most of the caches were shallowly buried along the banks of the Euphrates River and surrounding area.

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Others more than a little peeved at Rep. Murtha are Chief at Freedom Dogs and Andy at Residual Forces. Ben waxes poetic over at Hammerswing75.