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War critic Murtha does a '180' on troop surge

One of the most vocal anti-war Democrats in the House of Representatives has apparently changed his tune about the U.S. troop surge in Iraq.

In April, Congressman John Murtha (D-Pennsylvania) told CNN "the surge has failed" and "there was no possibility that it was going to work." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette now reports that Murtha said he saw signs of military progress during a recent trip to Iraq over the Thanksgiving break. The congressman, chairman of the powerful Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, is quoted as saying, "I think the 'surge' is working," but the Iraqis "have got to take care of themselves."

Gulf War veteran Steve Robertson is legislative director for the American Legion and has a son in the Army who is on his second tour in Iraq. He says the Pennsylvania lawmaker saw "a clear difference between perception and reality" during his visit.

"What he perceived initially was that the surge would not work," Robertson notes. "The reality is, once he got on the ground and visited with the troops and saw for himself, the stark reality came true -- that the surge was effective."

Robertson says Murtha's comments may make it harder for Democrats to continue rejecting President Bush's war funding request for next year. "The leadership is going to have to take a hard look [at itself]," he says. "One of the things that they were concerned about was the change of military strategy. Well, now that the military strategy was changed and it is working, I think that the leadership needs to seriously think about changing its views on how to approach the war."

Murtha stated that although the troop surge is helping improve security, the central government in Baghdad is "dysfunctional."

A democrat admitting their wrong? I'm taken not only astounded but impressed. I guess when the proof is in the pudding he doesn't want to look like a complete fool.



The Military did their job, now it is up to the politicians to do their's. The Military can't help fix a "dysfunctional" government that is up to the politicians to help the new Iraq government to do that. Let's see now if they will step up to the plate and do their part of the job.