Murtha: Get out of Iraq! Cheney: But I'm not finished starting WWIII!!?

Democratic hawk presses for U.S. Iraq pullout

By Vicki Allen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Democratic congressional leader on defense called for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, as he rejected on Thursday Bush administration attacks on war critics and raised bipartisan pressure for a new policy.

"The U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It is time to bring them home," said Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, the senior Democrat on the House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees defense spending and one of his party's top voices on military issues.

Murtha's remarks followed a string of sharp attacks by President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney against critics of their Iraq-war policy and handling of prewar intelligence.

Rule #1 in Rove Political Strategy Manual: Attack your critics and compare them to either Jane Fonda, Michael Moore, or Islamic terrorists. As performed by noted Whitehouse spokesmonkey Puffy McMoonface below...

White House spokesman Scott McClellan, in a statement issued with Bush in Pusan, South Korea, said Murtha is a respected veteran and politician "so it is baffling that he is endorsing the policy positions of Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic Party." Moore is a liberal movie producer and sharp Bush critic whose documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" criticized the Iraq war.

Rule #2: Bring up the fact that some of the Iraqis voted in an election that was rejected by most of the Sunnis.

"The eve of an historic democratic election in Iraq is not the time to surrender to the terrorists. After seeing his statement, we remain baffled -- nowhere does he explain how retreating from Iraq makes America safer," McClellan said.

How exactly, Mr. McMoonface, is an American military presence making Iraqis safer? They are a democracy now. They need to take care of themselves... like the Afghanis.

Murtha, a defense hawk, decorated Vietnam War veteran and retired Marine colonel, made a reference to the draft deferments that kept Cheney out of Vietnam.

"I like guys who got five deferments and (have) never been there and send people to war, and then don't like to hear suggestions about what needs to be done," Murtha said.

Can you say, "Oh! Snap!"

His call came two days after the Republican-controlled Senate overwhelmingly backed a resolution asking the administration for a plan to end the war, but rejected a Democratic resolution demanding a timetable from Bush.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada accused the White House of "a weak, spineless display of politics at a time of war" with its campaign against war critics.

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy said Bush's "pure, unadulterated fear-mongering" led the country into war.

Murtha, who supported the Iraq war but criticized Bush's handling of it, urged the administration to pull out U.S. troops as soon as it could be done safely. He estimated that would take about six months.

Republicans lashed out against the lawmaker who has served in Congress since 1974 and been a trusted defense adviser to presidents of both parties.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, said Murtha and other critics "want us to wave the white flag of surrender to the terrorists of the world ... We must not cower like European nations who are now fighting terrorists on their soil."

Dennis Hastert's military experience? Less than that of Bush. Nata. Sign up and suit up, Hastert!

Rep. Geoff Davis, a Kentucky Republican, said Democratic leaders have "cooperated with our enemies and are emboldening our enemies."

Murtha said he would introduce a resolution calling for the return of U.S. forces in Iraq "at the earliest practicable date." He called the war "a flawed policy wrapped in illusion."

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll this week said 63 percent of Americans oppose Bush's handling of the Iraq war, and 52 percent say troops should be pulled out now or within 12 months.

A handful of Democrats who opposed the war from the start have called for a quick withdrawal or a set timetable. Most want the administration to provide a withdrawal plan based on conditions on the ground.

"The American public is way ahead of the members of Congress," Murtha said.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California, a war opponent, called Murtha's statement a thought-provoking "watershed event," but stopped short of endorsing it.

Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri, top Armed Services Committee Democrat, said U.S. troop reductions should be linked to increases in Iraqi military readiness.

The administration has vehemently opposed any withdrawal timetables, which it calls a "cut and run" strategy. It is trying to build up Iraq's military so that U.S. troops can eventually leave.

But a number of Republicans were increasingly anxious about prospects in Iraq.

"We've got what I think is six months for this thing to begin to shape up ... to avoid a civil war," said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner of Virginia.

There are 153,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, up from the usual 138,000 to tighten security for elections in October and December. Another 22,000 troops from U.S. allies are also serving in Iraq.

(Additional reporting by Charles Aldinger, Donna Smith and Steve Holland) - Reuters

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Murtha took issue with the administration's counter-criticism, specifically President Bush's Veterans Day speech in which he said it is "deeply irresponsible to rewrite how that war began."

"I resent the fact that on Veterans Day, they criticized Democrats for criticizing them," Murtha said. "This [the war] is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion. The American public knows it, and lashing out at critics doesn't help a bit. You've got to change the policy. That's what's going to help the American people. You need to change direction."

Murtha -- who recently visited Iraq's Anbar province -- said it is Congress' responsibility to speak out for the "sons and daughters" on the battlefield, and relayed several emotional stories from soldiers recovering at Bethesda's Walter Reed Medical Center.

"I tell you, these young folks are under intense activity over there, I mean much more intense than Vietnam," he said. "You never know when it's going to happen."

-CNN.com