Bad Intentions, Badly Handled
John Murtha's incredibly inept political maneuvering, telegraphing his real intent by baldly stating his intentions in an interview instead of trying to reframe it has backfired. When the Washington Post refuses to carry water for the Murtha "slow bleed" plan, that plan is simply not going to work. At least it isn't going to work the way Murtha planned it. Instead, it is going to inflict massive political damage on the Democrats. No cover, Jacko, you are sitting in the wide open on this one.
Mr. Murtha has a different idea. He would stop the surge by crudely hamstringing the ability of military commanders to deploy troops. In an interview carried Thursday by the Web site MoveCongress.org, Mr. Murtha said he would attach language to a war funding bill that would prohibit the redeployment of units that have been at home for less than a year, stop the extension of tours beyond 12 months, and prohibit units from shipping out if they do not train with all of their equipment. His aim, he made clear, is not to improve readiness but to "stop the surge." So why not straightforwardly strip the money out of the appropriations bill — an action Congress is clearly empowered to take — rather than try to micromanage the Army in a way that may be unconstitutional? Because, Mr. Murtha said, it will deflect accusations that he is trying to do what he is trying to do. "What we are saying will be very hard to find fault with," he said.
Mr. Murtha's cynicism is matched by an alarming ignorance about conditions in Iraq. He continues to insist that Iraq "would be more stable with us out of there," in spite of the consensus of U.S. intelligence agencies that early withdrawal would produce "massive civilian casualties." He says he wants to force the administration to "bulldoze" the Abu Ghraib prison, even though it was emptied of prisoners and turned over to the Iraqi government last year. He wants to "get our troops out of the Green Zone" because "they are living in Saddam Hussein's palace"; could he be unaware that the zone's primary occupants are the Iraqi government and the U.S. Embassy?
That Murtha, the corrupt, unindicted co-conspirator in the Abscam sting, is ignorant in general goes without saying. He is the one who suggested redeploying American forces to Okinawa, after all. But his completely ham-handed way of handling the entire matter is amazingly stupid. And he single-handedly has exposed the Democrats to serious political danger as a result. He wanted to brag to the anti-war people thinking nobody would notice, apparently.
Bad bet, Johnny, bad bet. Maybe your fellow Democrats who will pay for your plotting should pitch in and get you a little something.
UPDATE: Others commenting on the sleazy maneuvering of John Murtha: QandO, Decision '08, Redstate, Neptunus Lex, Right Wing Nut House, Riehl World View, Let Freedom Ring, "7.62mm Justice" ™, TigerHawk, UrbanGrounds, Macsmind,
By TC@LeatherPenguin, February 17, 2007 @ 8:08 pm
First peson who comes here and defends the ugly old douche who skirted ABSCAM… KABLAMM.