Bronco_Beerslug
05-22-2006, 06:39 AM
Congrats Mr. Murtha! You will have saved many lives when it's finally over.
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Murtha to Receive JFK Award for Iraq Stance
By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The first Vietnam veteran elected to Congress, Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record) took pride in politicking quietly, behind the scenes, with Republicans and fellow Democrats alike. Washington has become more deeply partisan since Murtha was swept into office more than 30 years ago, and so has Murtha — in a very public way.
On Monday, Murtha is to be awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in Boston for his bold pronouncement that U.S. troops should be pulled out of
Iraq — a statement many say helped change the public debate over the war, because of Murtha's past as a Democratic hawk and retired Marines Reserves colonel who enjoyed easy access to presidents.
"There aren't many around like him any more," said Jack Johannes, a political science professor at Villanova University. "As a result, when the generations change, the environments change, even someone like John Murtha has to change."
http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/ap/20060520/capt.31a8e6f2dd2040caa98a78859539e1d3.murtha_polit ical_notebook_wx103.jpg?x=380&y=250&sig=.3PHEmHttT2ACpdl9d6RnQ--
Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., gestures during an interview with the Associated Press in his Capitol Hill office, Thursday, May 11, 2006. The first Vietnam veteran elected to Congress,Murtha took pride in politicking quietly, behind the scenes, with Republicans and fellow Democrats alike. Washington has become more deeply partisan since Murtha was swept into office more than 30 years ago, and so has Murtha _ in a very public way (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
Being honored along with Murtha on Monday is Alberto Mora, a former Navy general counsel who warned
Pentagon officials that U.S. policies dealing with terror detainees could invite abuse.
Despite high emotions associated with the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War, public criticism of other members was much less common in 1974 when Murtha first won the House seat he still holds. Without the Internet and the 24-hour cable news cycle of today, there was less pressure on members getting camera time to prove their worth.
"I probably did not speak out soon enough ... I should have, but I was always so used to doing things behind the scenes and getting something done, getting a reaction from the Executive Branch," the tall, gray-haired Murtha, 73, told The Associated Press in an interview from his congressional office.
As the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, Murtha was often called on by presidents seeking his service or advice. President Reagan had Murtha co-chair a 1986 delegation sent to help monitor elections in the Philippines, and Murtha was a go-to guy on Capitol Hill when President George H.W. Bush was cultivating congressional support for the 1991 Persian
Gulf War.
Murtha recalled returning from a trip to Beirut and telling Reagan that more troops were needed in Lebanon. He said the president did not take his advice, which was offered before the 1983 barracks bombing that killed 241 U.S troops, but did acknowledge later that Murtha had been right.
"At that time I didn't even talk publicly about what I said privately because I felt like I'd given my advice, even though they didn't take it, they changed course very quickly after the incident," Murtha said.
By contrast, Murtha said,
President Bush has been unwilling to admit to mistakes in Iraq. Murtha said he was invited to early war planning meetings with Pentagon officials, and when he said he thought they were too optimistic about how the Iraqi people would respond to the U.S.-led invasion, "They quit inviting me to meetings."
(CONTINUED)
http://tinyurl.com/easms
----------------------------------------------------------
Murtha to Receive JFK Award for Iraq Stance
By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The first Vietnam veteran elected to Congress, Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record) took pride in politicking quietly, behind the scenes, with Republicans and fellow Democrats alike. Washington has become more deeply partisan since Murtha was swept into office more than 30 years ago, and so has Murtha — in a very public way.
On Monday, Murtha is to be awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in Boston for his bold pronouncement that U.S. troops should be pulled out of
Iraq — a statement many say helped change the public debate over the war, because of Murtha's past as a Democratic hawk and retired Marines Reserves colonel who enjoyed easy access to presidents.
"There aren't many around like him any more," said Jack Johannes, a political science professor at Villanova University. "As a result, when the generations change, the environments change, even someone like John Murtha has to change."
http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/ap/20060520/capt.31a8e6f2dd2040caa98a78859539e1d3.murtha_polit ical_notebook_wx103.jpg?x=380&y=250&sig=.3PHEmHttT2ACpdl9d6RnQ--
Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., gestures during an interview with the Associated Press in his Capitol Hill office, Thursday, May 11, 2006. The first Vietnam veteran elected to Congress,Murtha took pride in politicking quietly, behind the scenes, with Republicans and fellow Democrats alike. Washington has become more deeply partisan since Murtha was swept into office more than 30 years ago, and so has Murtha _ in a very public way (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
Being honored along with Murtha on Monday is Alberto Mora, a former Navy general counsel who warned
Pentagon officials that U.S. policies dealing with terror detainees could invite abuse.
Despite high emotions associated with the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War, public criticism of other members was much less common in 1974 when Murtha first won the House seat he still holds. Without the Internet and the 24-hour cable news cycle of today, there was less pressure on members getting camera time to prove their worth.
"I probably did not speak out soon enough ... I should have, but I was always so used to doing things behind the scenes and getting something done, getting a reaction from the Executive Branch," the tall, gray-haired Murtha, 73, told The Associated Press in an interview from his congressional office.
As the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, Murtha was often called on by presidents seeking his service or advice. President Reagan had Murtha co-chair a 1986 delegation sent to help monitor elections in the Philippines, and Murtha was a go-to guy on Capitol Hill when President George H.W. Bush was cultivating congressional support for the 1991 Persian
Gulf War.
Murtha recalled returning from a trip to Beirut and telling Reagan that more troops were needed in Lebanon. He said the president did not take his advice, which was offered before the 1983 barracks bombing that killed 241 U.S troops, but did acknowledge later that Murtha had been right.
"At that time I didn't even talk publicly about what I said privately because I felt like I'd given my advice, even though they didn't take it, they changed course very quickly after the incident," Murtha said.
By contrast, Murtha said,
President Bush has been unwilling to admit to mistakes in Iraq. Murtha said he was invited to early war planning meetings with Pentagon officials, and when he said he thought they were too optimistic about how the Iraqi people would respond to the U.S.-led invasion, "They quit inviting me to meetings."
(CONTINUED)
http://tinyurl.com/easms