Carnal Reason

I have re-written this post because readers were taking the original as a personal attack on Mr. Murtha. My intent was to criticize his proposed policy, specifically, his implied military doctrine. I care not one whit about the man himself.

Open Source Media quotes Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa:

“Our troops have become the primary target of the insurgency,” Murtha, a longtime hawk on foreign and military affairs issues, said Thursday. “They are united against U.S. forces and we have become a catalyst for violence.”

Murtha repeats the point in his resolution to Congress:

…
Whereas, U.S. forces have become the target of the insurgency,
…
Section 1. The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date.

Section 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S Marines shall be deployed in the region.

Section 3. The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy.

Well, yes, U.S. forces have become one of the targets of the terrorist insurgency. U.S. forces also became the targets of Japanese and German forces during WWII. That is what happens in war. Does the Representative propose that U.S. forces must withdraw when opposed? If so, we have no use for a military.

He offers other reasons for withdrawing:

Whereas, according to recent polls, over 80 percent of the Iraqi people want U.S. forces out of Iraq;

Whereas, polls also indicate that 45 percent of the Iraqi people feel that the attacks on U.S. forces are justified;

Another novel doctrine, conducting a war via recent polls. Perhaps we can commission NPR, the BBC, or even al jazeera to conduct polls to guide all our military efforts.

Whereas, additional stabilization in Iraq by U, S. military forces cannot be achieved without the deployment of hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. troops, which in turn cannot be achieved without a military draft;

Hundreds of thousands, no less. A mere ten or twenty thousand more troops would presumably be useless; nothing short of a draft will do. The Representative simply makes up an assertion. He is pandering to the MoveOn.org crowd.

I’ll let another member of Congress have the last word.

Dear friends at NoEndButVictory.com,

Our mission in Iraq is clear: Peace through strength, and victory through resolve. Those who would have us withdraw immediately have forgotten what appeasement does to madmen and murderers.

Withdrawing our troops from Iraq while our mission is not yet achieved will send a chilling message to freedom-loving peoples across the globe about the intentions of our great country. It will not only put into question our resolve to stand up to these fanatical Islamist extremists who wish to destroy our way of life, it will also set a terrible precedent by letting every Islamist militant know that we can be terrorized into retreat. Our mission in spearheading freedom and democracy in the Middle East is critical, and we must not let any set of circumstances thwart it.

My stepson and his fiancée are proud Marines currently serving in Iraq — and I can tell you that they feel privileged to take part in this mission. And they fully understand that what they are doing will affect their children and grandchildren.

That’s why I am voting these evening to stay the course in Iraq. Thank you for your tremendous support of this mission — and thank you for honoring those who stand with America today.

NO END BUT VICTORY.

Sincerely,
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Florida, 18th Congressional District

Posted on November 18th, 2005 by pwyll
Filed under: politics, war