One of Congress's most outspoken critics of the war as well as last year's surge in troops, Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Penn.), told a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, news station on Thursday that he believes things have gotten better in Iraq.
Yet, apart from CNN, his statements appear to have gone largely unnoticed.
This of course is in stark contrast to the media frenzy that occurred in November 2005 when Murtha called for an immediate withdrawal of troops.
I guess we should be thankful that CNN discovered the report done by CBS affiliate KDKA on Thursday, and shared the news with its viewers during Friday's "The Situation Room" (video available here):
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After saying at one point there was no way the troop surge in Iraq would work, John Murtha is giving a nod to the operation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): From one of the most brutal critics of the president's conduct in Iraq, a more upbeat take on how the war is going. Interviewed by Pittsburgh TV station KDKA, Democratic congressman and Vietnam veteran John Murtha is asked, did the surge in Iraq work?
REP. JOHN MURTHA, (D) PENNSYLVANIA: I think the short term it certainly reduced incidents. I'm not sure whether it's because of the Iraqis are just worn out, but certainly the way they're doing it today makes a big difference.
TODD: Murtha said that before, and he's still not backing off his overall position on Iraq, a stand he took two and a half years ago in a dramatic rebuke of the administration.
MURTHA: U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It's time to bring the troops home.
TODD: An aide tells CNN Murtha still believes all U.S. forces should be withdrawn and he favors leaving a small strike force somewhere in the region. Murtha says more resources need to be committed to Afghanistan. But his aides says he won't go to the point of favoring a surge there.
Interesting, dontcha think? We should pull troops out of Iraq because we need more resources in Afghanistan. Yet, Murtha won't commit to putting more troops in Afghanistan? Todd continued:
TODD: Does Murtha's take on the Iraq surge mean Democrats are splintering over the war?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: There's some disagreement among Democrats about whether the surge is working, whether it's making any difference, whether the political situation is improving or not. There's a little debate about that. But in terms of getting out of Iraq, there really is no disagreement. Democrats want out.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Bill Schneider believes one way the Republicans can score points off Murtha's comments on the surge is to point out that what many Democrats said when the surge began, that it wouldn't work. At that time John Murtha said the same thing, saying a surge in troops was unacceptable. Suzanne?
Interesting report from CNN. Makes you wonder why Google News and LexisNexis searches identified no other major media reported Murtha's statements.
(Readers are advised that many outlets don't produce transcripts over the weekend. As such, reports on this matter could have been filed that are not currently in the LexisNexis database.)
—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters. Follow him at Facebook and Twitter.
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Wonderful...wonderful... H
July 7, 2008 - 00:49 ET by bigtimerWonderful...wonderful...
He has to reluctantly admit the surge is working...maybe because they are all tired out to-boot crap...
When is the POS SOB gonna' apologize to the military about Haditha?
HUH!?!
He is a real piece of work...slug...deep in the pig trough of leftists...
I despise this slug.
...and of course the rest of the msm is silent about this compared to his enemy within roaring he has done on the screens of our televisions... gleefully put on by the majority of the networks when it suited their agenda...or his bellicose loud-mouthed blathering on the House floor...that was defeatd every single time.
He is a despicable creature.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
I'm suprised...
July 7, 2008 - 01:10 ET by 3strikesthat he even admitted that Iraq is getting better. Like the media, most of the Dems are completely ignoring any news that says that we are actually winning in Iraq. It's amazing that the UK Telegraph actually printed a story about it... well actually, I take that back... The Telegraph has been far more likely to print news that is fair to Conservatives than the Guardian or many of the MSM over here.
Anyways, look at John Kerry's statements about John McCain that happen to be on the same day that we are removing 550 metric tons of Yellowcake Uranium from Iraq.
BT - I'm With You
July 7, 2008 - 01:54 ET by geoff.galeI send his office an email every Monday morning (well, my computer sends it, I wrote it a year ago or so and I let a chronjob handle re-sending it every week) asking him when he's going to apologise to the troops he slandered. Personally, I hope Chessani sues him for every pork-slimed dime he's got.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
- Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797)
www.conservativeboot...
I read that some of them
July 7, 2008 - 08:04 ET by motherbeltI read that some of them are suing him already. I hope the ALL do!!
Shoot 'em all; let God sort 'em out! - Marge Simpson
About three weeks ago I
July 7, 2008 - 01:13 ET by maggieqpublicAbout three weeks ago I told my brother-in-law, who has an extreme case of BDS…. “Look, I always told you I HOPED I was right about the possibility of a successful Iraqi invasion, but I never felt certain about the outcome, and I still don’t. However, your continuing focus on the negative tells me that you are unwilling to admit that your assessment of the situation may have been faulty.”
He was angry, but silent.
Let’s face it folks…. if every-day civilians are having a hard time saying, “I may have been wrong about Iraq,” how can we possibly expect power-mad politicians (like Murtha) to admit a fundamental error in judgment?
Murtha
July 7, 2008 - 01:26 ET by harry flashmanJack Murtha is an embarrassment to the United States of America, to the United States Marine Corps, to the United States House of Representatives and quickly becoming an embarrasment to San Fran Nan's Democrat controlled House. Although it seems an impossiibility to shane a liberal. it's still in the realm of possiblility.
Although, agreed, not very plausible.
If a liberal feels forced
July 7, 2008 - 03:09 ET by entIf a liberal feels forced to admit that things are going well in Iraq, especially an incredible ass-hat liberal like Murtha, then things must be going really, really, really well. So glad to hear it!
Good job, soldiers!
Most of the Democrats in
July 7, 2008 - 03:37 ET by Rush FanMost of the Democrats in Congress are an embarrassment to our brave soldiers and the United States.
Example: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s article at The Huffington Post entitled "Bringing the War to an End is my Highest Priority as Speaker". (Notice the picture of President Bush with a bone through his nose) http://www.huffingto...
Example: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a press conference reading with approval from the nonbinding Senate resolution: "It is not in the national interest of the United States to deepen its military involvement in Iraq, particularly by escalating the U.S. troop presence in Iraq"
http://www.washingto...
Example: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in an interview with Good Morning America: "I think it is very difficult for the President to sustain a war of this magnitude without the support of the American people, and without the support of the Congress of the United States. That's why Congress will vote to oppose the President's escalation."
http://www.usnews.co...
Example: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced to journalists: "I believe ... that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week,"
http://www.breitbart...
Additionally, some on the GOP side were against the surge. For example, Senator Sam Brownback, just back from Iraq, said: “…it is difficult to understand why more U.S. troops would make a difference."
http://news.xinhuane...
Finally, NewsBusters has done an excellent job of documenting the MSM role in downplaying the role of the surge.
Thankfully, President Bush has been steadfast in his leadership.
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Which political party is invested in our defeat in Iraq?
Well done!
July 7, 2008 - 03:45 ET by harry flashmanWell done, Rush Fan - the Man would be proud of your recitation of the facts, then offered to the arena of public opinion.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion - nobody is entitled to their own personal "facts."
It is or it ain't - no in-between.
Thanks harry. By the way, I
July 7, 2008 - 04:22 ET by Rush FanThanks harry. By the way, I posted a comment on your Saving Private Ryan post.
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I'm voting for Barack Obama now that an AP poll shows people would rather barbecue burgers with Barack Obama than with John McCain. http://news.yahoo.co...
Murtha Does It Again!
July 7, 2008 - 05:56 ET by coffee260Noel,
Your post entitled "CNN: Murtha Flip-flops on Surge" has one very
significant quote missing from it. I don't know if you know this but
when you quoted the report done by CBS affiliate KDKA they must have
edited the tape leaving out a very damning quote from Murtha.
In your post you quote from the video clip this,
When in fact, he actually said, in full, [emphasis added to omission]
Did you get that? American troops "...broke down doors" and "...killed people inadvertantly."
No wonder they edited the tape. But thanks to Gateway Pundit we can get
the whole story here
[http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/07/murtha-surge-is-working-because.html].
I think this is so significant an omission it calls into question the
whole report done by CNN.
MURTHA...
July 7, 2008 - 06:36 ET by danybhoyJohn Murtha the soldier is 1 thing, thank you for your service...
John Murtha the Congressman is another. He is in my opinion, a corrupt politician who abuses his possition of power. I have not made up my mind just yet if I believe he is a traitor. Before anyone tries pointing at his military record to cover his FAT @$$, just remember how good ole' Bennidict Arnald was before his name became another way of calling somebody a traitor/turncoat. I'm not saying, but I'm just saying.
"...it's still We The People, Right?" Megadeth
Murtha the vet
July 7, 2008 - 15:19 ET by okiehawk44I'm a little sick of this continuing respect for John Murtha, Marine Corps veteran.
I don't thank him for his service or anything else. Good Marines died and this POS lives. Where's the justice?
He is a nasty, lying, thug and the shame of Pennsylvania and the Corps.
Disgusting
July 7, 2008 - 06:56 ET by DingbatWhat a disgusting sight to see: Fat Jack's picture the first thing in the AM. I too write him frequently. Never got an answer. Fat Jack should talk about opinion polls (re his Turkey comment). He conveniently forgets that the Pelosi/Reid gang has single digit approval ratings...is the Mesiah goiung to fix that?
For thouse of you who try to web mail clowns like Murtha and they won't accept it because you are not in their District: simply look on their congressional website and get the street address and zip of their back home offices. Use that and it sails through (I use my real address in the body but alas, no answer.).
Fat Jack
July 7, 2008 - 07:19 ET by DanoI live in Western Pa. and am embarrassed by this ultra-liberal idiot. He secures his house seat by bring tons of pork to his district. His seniority permits him to do almost anything he wants and needs to keep his constituents voting for him. Of course, most people in his district see him as a hero, wheeling in the pork . He can spew almost anything in a national forum. It won't affect his votes out of his district.
As far as KDKA-TV , what would you expect from a station affiliated with CBS (Communist Broadcasting Network).
I was going to post a take
July 7, 2008 - 07:51 ET by motherbeltI was going to post a take on the Natalie Maines line..."Just so you know, a lot of us are embarrassed that Murtha is from PA."
I know I am, and I'm not even in his district.
Shoot 'em all; let God sort 'em out! - Marge Simpson
Jack Murtha makes Benedict Arnold look like....
July 7, 2008 - 22:26 ET by R D Helm...a true American patriot.
Wouldn't be surprised if Murtha has a photo of Vidkun Quisling stashed in his closet, either, if not his likeness tattooed to his traitorous behind.
The truth is insensitive. - Neal Boortz