Murtha on HuffPo "Situation in Iraq IS Civil War"

[ourbluenation]

According to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition, the definition of a civil war is a "war between political factions or regions within the same country." That is exactly what is going on in Iraq, not a global war on terrorism, as the President continues to portray it.

93 percent of those fighting in Iraq are Iraqis.

A very small percentage of the fighting is being done by foreign fighters. Our troops are caught in between the fighting. 80 percent of Iraqis want us out of there and 45 percent think it is justified to kill American troops.

Iraqis went to the polls in droves on December 15th and rejected the secular, pro-democracy candidates and those who the Administration in Washington propped up. Preliminary vote results indicate that Iyad Allawi, the pro-American Prime Minister, received about 8 percent of the vote and Ahmad Chalabi, Iraq's current Oil Minister and close associate of the U.S. Iraq war planners, received less than 1 percent. According to General Vines, the top operational commander in Iraq, "the vote is reported to be primarily along sectarian lines, which is not particularly heartening." The new government he said "must be a government by and for Iraqis, not sects."

more here

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-john-murtha/situation...

____________

My favorite thing about this though is the first comment after the blog entry...

"Why can't a realistic politician express the deal to those Americans who want to hold out for "victory"? It is the poll numbers of those who want to "stay the course" that keeps us there. Now, these imbeciles want to stay to spite Howard Dean. Maybe we are going about this all wrong. Should we use reverse psychology?"

[Cults4Bush]

1. Yet so many (even Dems) want to pass trhough a series of ambigous

benchmarks that are almost impossible to meet, and they are spread out over a year and a half!

Still lets stay there, we have face to save... or something.

Add to that so many treating Iraq as if its a single issue. Its not and thats why the DLC war supporters tend to grind your ass into being a "single issue" voter if you are pissed about and what support their Hilllary and Joes. Insulting us into votes is a crappy strategy as is being the lesser of two evils.

[The Whiskey Priest]

2. It has been a civil war for sometime.

GW cannot classify it as such, because that would give too much political coloring to the insurgents.

[ourbluenation]

6. and of course...it would hurt his head. eom

[The Whiskey Priest]

7. Well that is a truism...

it goes without saying, but thanks for saying.

[leftstreet]

3. Is Murtha going to try submitting his redeploy resolution again?

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa12_murtha/pr_051117_iraqres.html

For Immediate Release
November 17, 2005  

To Redeploy U.S. Forces from Iraq.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MR. MURTHA introduced the following joint resolution:
 
(H. J. Res._________ )-

To Redeploy U.S. Forces from Iraq.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MR. MURTHA introduced the following joint resolution, which was referred to the Committee on ____________________________

Whereas Congress and the American People have not been shown clear, measurable progress toward establishment of stable and improving security in Iraq or of a stable and improving economy in Iraq, both of which are essential to "promote the emergence of a democratic government";

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;

Whereas more than $277 billion has been appropriated by the United States Congress to prosecute U.S. military action in Iraq and Afghanistan;

Whereas, as of the drafting of this resolution, 2,079 U.S. troops have been killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom; 

Whereas U.S. forces have become the target of the insurgency;

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

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

Whereas, due to the foregoing, Congress finds it evident that continuing U.S. military action in Iraq is not in the best interests of the United States of America, the people of Iraq, or the Persian Gulf Region, which were cited in Public Law 107-243 as justification for undertaking such action;

Therefore be it

1) Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
2)  Congress assembled,
3) That:
4) Section 1.  The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is
5) hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable
6) date.
7) Section 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S. Marines
8)  shall be deployed in the region.
9) Section 3. The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq
10)  through diplomacy.

[oblivious]

4. I also like that comment: "US troops are just caught in the middle".

Just innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire and all that.

[ourbluenation]

5. I believe the only way this situation can end is for the rest of the world

to get good and pissed off. Shine the light, big time, on the ridiculousness of

the logic behind this invasion
the impossible place the allied forces have been put in
the theocracy, not democracy, we have now created

jesus - I could go on and on.