Congress Shows Yellow Stripe, Back Stabs Troops; Recall Murtha

Collaborators and infiltrators in the US House of Representative are again attempting to deny American troops a hard-fought and well-deserved victory in Iraq.

The Democrats passed a measure in the House on a 223-201 vote, which included four Republican turncoats who should be redesignated as Cowards of the Country. The measure requires U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by spring, which itself is a joke because there is every reason to believe that American forces can begin to draw down by that time anyway.

Ever since the Bush administration announced that a new offensive would begin in Iraq, we have been told that there was a starting date, but no finite end date. People who actually served in the military know that you never make a hard fast prediction on how long something is going to take, because the unexpected is the rule. It takes as long as it takes and it's over when it's over.

We also were told that we would get a progress report from the field sometime in September. That is fine by me, aside from the fact that we never should have announced the so-called Surge ahead of time because it tipped off the terrorists. But a progress report is a good time to take measure of what has happened so far and determine what needs to be done in the future.

Regardless of what the September report says, it has always been understood that September is not considered to be the end of the offensive, just a time when we will get an update on its progress.

However, a new, so-called interim report, that was generated in Washington, using benchmarks determined by politicians, was used this week to say that we aren't getting the job done in Iraq so therefore let's get out now. What a joke. What I keep hearing from Iraq is that we are mowing down terrorists in huge numbers, and meeting the security goals that always were the primary requirement before we started working on political goals.

Whether Iraq, which was formed from three disparate ethnic groups by the British after WWI, will ever be able to work as a unified nation is up to the Iraqis. But they will never have a chance to find out if the Al Qaeda terrorists are allowed to dominate that country. I believe firmly that Saddam Hussein was more than willing to let the terrorists reform in Iraq after we beat them in Afghanistan and use his country as the new terrorist base.

That plan was eliminated when we toppled Saddam, and while I have said before and repeat now, many mistakes were made after his government fell, the fact is we have been killing terrorists in huge numbers there ever since.

As far as the Run Away Measure that the House of Representatives passed, it has a snowball's chance in a forest fire of ever becoming law because it passed on such a slim margin, nowhere near enough to override a presidential veto which is a certainty if the Senate passes it too.

But that doesn't alter the fact that members of Congress are voting to pull the rug out from under the troops at the exact moment they are locked in combat. Saying we should begin a withdrawal in the spring is not only playing right into the terrorists' hands, it is cowardly since even our military commanders have been saying that meeting our military goals should be accomplished in that general time frame.

Want to debate the success of the Surge? Do it in the spring when we can see what has transpired and whether we have met the goals as stated. Doing it now, when the offensive has barely begun, is not only premature, it is treasonous and endangers our troops.

This measure is the most disgraceful example ever of congressional interference in our country's military, surpassing even the murderous example set by cowards like John Murtha and Ted Kennedy when they refused to authorize help for South Vietnam in April 1975. They, supported by slugs like Henry Kissinger, Jane Fonda and John Kerry set the stage for the slaughter of millions of innocents in Southeast Asia.

But even then, American troops were no longer in the country and hadn't been for years. That doesn't excuse the betrayal of our South Vietnamese allies, but in this case, Congress is trying to sabotage our military while our troops are under fire!

The word reprehensible doesn't even begin to meet the definition of what Congressional Democrats and the Cowards of the Country are trying to accomplish.

Speaking of cowards, I notice that John Murtha, the big-mouthed Pennsylvania wannabe war hero is absolutely mute on the report I wrote about yesterday that all but exonerates the US Marines who have been charged with murder after a firefight with terrorists in Haditha. Remember, Murtha declared them cold-blooded murderers in a news conference, even though he hadn't seen a scintilla of evidence to support that statement?

These charges stem from a battle in the insurgent held town of Haditha, Iraq on November 19, 2005. Marines were alleged to have executed Iraqi civilians and that their officers were involved in a "cover-up" of the incident.

Lots of people are calling for an apology. I hope my friends don't hold their breath waiting for it.

Ironically, or tragically, my Marine brothers on the Together We Served website contacted me almost immediately to let me know that the commanding officer of the unit involved has been referred to a court martial for dereliction of duty at the same time that his Marines have been shown to be innocent.

Many Marines are saying that Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani is actually asking for a General Court Martial, which could be a good thing because there a jury of his peers, in other words, combat Marines rather than pencil-pushing careerist REMFs (you'll have to look that up, but caution, it is not for children) would review his actions.

Considering that Lt. Col. Chessani was not on the scene of the shooting, and a review of the actions of the Marines who were directly involved says they should be exonerated, it seems to me that any charges in this case should be immediately dismissed with prejudice, meaning they can never be reinstated.

Richard Thompson, the President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center which has been representing Lt. Col. Chessani since January, says in a recent article on the case, "This recommendation deals more with political correctness than criminality. Lt. Col. Chessani is chastised in the report because he had more confidence in his men than in insurgent propaganda. It glorifies paper pushing over fighting and has the unintended consequence of dampening the spirit of the most ferocious fighters on Earth.

The article adds, "This case is the consequence of Congressman Murtha's politically motivated statements against Lt. Col. Chessani and his Marines, as well as the terrorist inspired story in Time Magazine."

This is despicable. It is the ruination of a fine Marine's career - believe me, regardless of the outcome, his career is over - for doing exactly what he was supposed to do, field highly trained, competent Marines who can and did close with and kill our enemies.

I don't hear Murtha running his big mouth on that either. For those who are waiting for Murtha to apologize, I have another suggestion, recommended by a TWS brother.

President Bush should intervene as commander-in-chief, overrule the decision that Lt. Col. Chessani face court martial, and order dismissal of all charges against all Marines involved in the case. I don't care if there is no precedent for this, he is president and commander-in-chief, he can establish one.

Then he should recall Murtha, who claims to have been a Marine, to active duty. The President then should initiate an intensive review of Murtha's claims to have been wounded in combat, plus his comments prejudging a squad of Marines who obviously did nothing wrong.

Then he should refer Murtha to a court martial for conduct unbecoming, and when he is found guilty, which he assuredly will be, Murtha should be reduced in rank to private, stripped of his self-awarded decorations and drummed out of the Marine Corps in disgrace.

Murtha is a wannabe, or poser, as my friends at TWS call it, and should be exposed as such. He is a disgrace to the centuries of honorable, patriotic men and women who have upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps, and he should be stripped of any pretense of sharing the title Marine.