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- Feb 19, 2009
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John Murtha volunteered to serve in Vietnam. He received the Bronze Star with V-device and two Purple Hearts. You have to EARN that the hard way, so my hat's off to him for his military service. Although I disagreed with his politics, I will never say anything negative about his military service or the respect that he EARNED during that military service.
As for his controversial comments and the Haditha investigation, I don't know how much of that was driven by politics and how much of it was the result of a bonafide investigation into questionable actions by US troops. The harsh ugly truth is that Iraqi noncombatants were, in fact, killed by US Marines. Whether it was premeditated murder, reckless endangerment of noncombatants or a horrible case of collateral damage will always be debated. Point is that Murtha was RIGHT: there were innocents killed as the result of US military actions.
Wars are ugly. I expect our leaders to look into accusations of wrongdoing and not sweep it under the rug. In this respect, I think Murtha did right. While I didn't agree with his views about the war in Iraq, I certainly respected his right to express his view. The news media misquoted him, and that resulted in a public apology by Bill O'Reilly who had slammed Murtha based on those misquotes.
I believe in a strong military and will to apply that military strength. However, we also need people who question that application with tough questions. Need that to keep things in balance. And in that regard, Murtha ought to be respected for being willing to ask those tough, unpleasant questions rather than hide behind the veil of patriotism by deliberately ignoring ugly news.
So count me as one of those who will render a salute to COL John Murtha.
As for his controversial comments and the Haditha investigation, I don't know how much of that was driven by politics and how much of it was the result of a bonafide investigation into questionable actions by US troops. The harsh ugly truth is that Iraqi noncombatants were, in fact, killed by US Marines. Whether it was premeditated murder, reckless endangerment of noncombatants or a horrible case of collateral damage will always be debated. Point is that Murtha was RIGHT: there were innocents killed as the result of US military actions.
Wars are ugly. I expect our leaders to look into accusations of wrongdoing and not sweep it under the rug. In this respect, I think Murtha did right. While I didn't agree with his views about the war in Iraq, I certainly respected his right to express his view. The news media misquoted him, and that resulted in a public apology by Bill O'Reilly who had slammed Murtha based on those misquotes.
I believe in a strong military and will to apply that military strength. However, we also need people who question that application with tough questions. Need that to keep things in balance. And in that regard, Murtha ought to be respected for being willing to ask those tough, unpleasant questions rather than hide behind the veil of patriotism by deliberately ignoring ugly news.
So count me as one of those who will render a salute to COL John Murtha.