So Rep. Jack Murtha yesterday made a speech supporting withdrawal of troops from Iraq, a speech in which he stated the following:
My plan calls for immediate redeployment of U.S. troops consistent with the safety of U.S. forces, to create a quick reaction force in the region, to create an over-the-horizon presence of Marines, and to diplomatically pursue security and stability in Iraq.
That does not mean he wants to leave troops there until it is the right time to leave, he believes the right time is now (‘immediate redeployment’) and the only consideration regarding the withdrawal should be that it is done in a way that the withdrawal is not a bloody retreat in which security will be so lax that thousands will die in the withdrawal. In the Q and A following his statement, he reiterated that point:
Q: Congressman, Republicans say that Democrats are calling for withdrawal, are advocating a cut-and-run strategy. What do you say to that criticism?
REP. MURTHA: It’s time to bring them home. They’ve done everything they can do. The military’s done everything they can do. This war has been so mishandled from the very start. Not only was the intelligence bad, the way they disbanded the troops, there’s all kinds of mistakes that have been made. They don’t deserve to continue to suffer. They’re the targets. They have become the enemy! Eighty percent of the Iraqis want us out of there. The public wants us out of there.
Rep. Murtha then introduces a piece of legislation which calls for the following:
Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That:
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.
The GOP strips down all of the other nonsense from Murtha’s resolution, and plans to hold a vote on the following resolution:
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.
In other words, the same damn thing. They will vote on an immediate withdrawal of troops, just as Murtha expressed in his bill and in his statement.
And Kos is pissed. First, he tells the Democrats to run from the vote:
Actually, the smartest thing to do would probably be to simply disappear for the vote. A 218-0 vote would be pretty useless as a political weapon for the GOP. No need to give them the satisfaction of a vote.
This is what you guys want! You have been telling the public for a year now that we have lost in Iraq, and Armando spends everyday calling for the withdrawal oof troops from Iraq, and now we are going to have a vote on it, and you tell your folks not to vote? Gimme a damned break. You want the troops out- here is your damned vote.
Then, Kos freaks out because some in the press are calling the GOP version the ‘Murtha bill.’ I can’t control the media, but this is absurd:
Funny how the Republicans in the debate keep referring to the “Democrat resolution”, even though they introduced it and it bears ZERO resemblance to the actual Murtha resolution.
Why are Republicans afraid to bring Murtha’s actual resolution up to a vote, rather than this nakedly political piece of shit? And why do they insist on calling their own resolution a “Democrat” resolution?
What a bunch of liars.
You want the troops out. You consistently state the public supports you. You have spent the last two years saying Bush lied to you, this was a war for oil, and so on. You tell us over and over again the public is behind you. You now have a vote on what Murtha proposed yesterday- immediate withdrawal of the troops.
So shut up, quit your damned whining, reach down between your legs and grab a pair of grapes, and vote on the resolution. It is as simple as it gets. Do you favor immediate withdrawal of the troops from Iraq? Yes or no.
Even an unnuanced simpleton like me can figure this one out.
*** Update ***
I have learned some interesting things in the comments. Apparently, without the word ‘practicable’ in the resolution, what is going to happen is that military commanders all over Iraq will come out in to the middle of their compounds with bullhorns, and state the following:
“Attention troops. This is a retreat and an unplanned withdrawal. Throw down your weapons and head for the border. Congress called for immediate withdrawal, and failed to tell us to do it when ‘practicable.’ Therefore, we are going to throw aside all of our training and years of logistics experience and just run like hell.”