Murtha plans bill to reign in Pentagon
U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Johnstown, said he is ready to propose new legislation to try and halt the escalation of troops scheduled for deployment in Iraq. Murtha said in a live video conference Wednesday that he intends to introduce legislation on the House floor in March that would propose moving funding earmarked for the troop surge to the strategic reserve, prohibit unequipped and untrained troops from being deployed and limit extended combat time for soldiers in Iraq.
“The Defense Department needs to be micromanaged,” Murtha said in the interview broadcast from his Washington, D.C., office, noting he would be meeting with President Bush and other leaders to discuss the war Wednesday afternoon. “The fact that the president is willing to meet with us might mean he is starting to reach out and listen.”
Murtha’s comments followed a spontaneous trip to the Middle East where he joined newly named Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on the five-day tour, which included stops in Iraq, Kuwait, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The visit came just days after the president announced a proposal to increase troop levels in Iraq by more than 21,000.
Murtha, who has a history of support for the military and initially voted in favor of the invasion of Iraq, thrust himself into the national spotlight last year when he called for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq, a position he has held since.
“I am not encouraged by what I saw,” Murtha said, noting that the situation in the war-torn country appears to have deteriorated since his last visit.
“The generals paint a much more rosy picture than the troops on the ground,” Murtha said.
Murtha said that during a prior visit to Iraq, he was taken to a safe zone by vehicle, and the situation seemed to be under control.
During his recent visit, Murtha said the same trip was done by Black Hawk helicopter under the cover of Apache helicopters because the region is less stable.
Murtha said the news from the ground in Iraq also was negative.
He said both electricity and oil production across the country remain below pre-war levels. He said that the unemployment rate is between 40 and 60 percent. He also noted that the number of insurgent attacks has nearly doubled over the last year.
Murtha, who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1974, said while he is opposed to the proposed escalation of troops in Iraq, he will not cut funding to any troops headed into battle but will try to win over Congress to defer money from the escalation to the strategic reserve.
“Many programs including domestic programs have had to be cut back because of the cost of the war,” Murtha said.
Murtha, a Vietnam veteran who initially voted to approve the invasion of Iraq, said he changed his mind about the conflict after talking with soldiers and watching the war spiral out of control over the last three years.
Murtha, who was both honored and lambasted by supporters and critics after his remarks on immediate withdrawal of troops last year, said his support for troops in Iraq never has wavered despite his political battles over the conflict.
“The troops understand that there is a difference between policy and support for the troops,” Murtha said.
In October 2002, Murtha and the U.S. House of Representatives approved the resolution to go to war by a vote of 296-133, followed by a U.S. Senate vote of 77-23.
The vote came 11 years after Congress voted to approve the use of force to remove Iraq from occupied Kuwait.
That time, with an international coalition already in place, the margin was much closer: 250-183 in the House and 52-47 in the Senate.
In an interview with the Herald-Standard in 2002, Murtha expressed concerns about entering a war in Iraq despite voting in favor of the war measure.
“Obviously, we have reason to be concerned about Saddam Hussein,” Murtha said then. “There is no question that he’s a real threat to us and we need to make sure he’s not developing nuclear, chemical or biological weapons to use against us or against other nations in the Middle East.”
But the congressman noted then that he had concerns about taking military action against Iraq.
He said an attack might sidetrack the war on terrorism and could require at least 200,000 troops and $40 billion in funding to support the campaign. Murtha also said that the United States needs the support of Iraq’s neighbors before force is used and that if the United States would attack Iraq, the odd counterbalance between Iraq and Iran could destabilize the entire region.
Now, more than four years after the vote, Murtha said Wednesday that he wishes he had been wrong with many of his predictions and concerns regarding the invasion.
“We can’t win this militarily. Everything I said was true. I wish I weren’t right. I wish I was wrong,” Murtha said.
As of Tuesday, 3,080 members of the U.S. military have died since the start of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
Murtha retired from the Marines Corps in 1990 after serving 37 years. He earned the Bronze Star, the Combat V and two Purple Hearts during his service in Vietnam.
Murtha was the first combat veteran from Vietnam elected to Congress and is the current ranking member of the Defense Appropriations Committee.