John Murtha

John Patrick "Jack" Murtha, Jr. (born June 17, 1932) is an American politician. He has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1974; he represents the Twelfth Congressional District of Pennsylvania (map). The district is based in Johnstown and includes most of the southern and eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh with all or part of Allegheny, Armstrong, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Somerset, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties.

He was born in New Martinsville, West Virginia, near the border with Ohio, and grew up in the Pittsburgh suburbs of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania where as a youth he became an Eagle Scout. He also worked delivering newspapers and at a gas station before graduating from The Kiski School, a well respected all-boys boarding school in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania.

He left Washington and Jefferson College in 1952 to join the Marines during the Korean War. There he earned the American Spirit Honor Medal. He rose through the ranks to become a drill instructor at Parris Island and was selected for Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia. He then was assigned to the Second Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

After his service, he ran a small business, Johnstown Minute Car Wash, attended the University of Pittsburgh on the GI Bill, and received a degree in economics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Murtha married his wife Joyce on June 10, 1955. (They now have three children and live in Johnstown.)

Murtha remained in the Marine Corps Reserves. In 1959, then-Captain Murtha took command of the 34th Special Infantry Company, Marine Corps Reserves, in Johnstown. He remained in the Reserves after his discharge from active duty until he volunteered for service in Vietnam in 1966-67, serving as a battalion staff officer (S-2 Intelligence Section), receiving the Bronze Star with Combat "V" for valor in combat, two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He retired from the Reserves as a colonel in 1990, receiving the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. Mr. Murtha is quoted in a BBC article. He stated the Marines ""accused"" of killing people in Iraq are 'cold blooded murders." LINK: John Murtha Quoted calling US Marines 'cold blooded murderers' As a point of fact it is important to point out here that the trial of these US Marines has not yet been started. Indeed, as of Mid June, 2006, no charges have been filed against anyone, nor has the Marine Corps investigation of the incident been completed.

He was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1968 and served there until 1974, when he ran in a special election for Pennsylvania's 12th District. The seat had come open after 24-year incumbent Republican John Saylor died in October 1973. He won by 122 votes, making him the first Vietnam veteran to serve in Congress. He won a full term later that year with 58% of the vote and has been reelected 14 times without much diffculty.

His lowest percentage came in 1980, when he received 59.6% of the vote against Charles A. Getty. This challenge occurred during the ABSCAM investigation in which Murtha was named as an "unindicted co-conspirator", but was never charged. He was eventually cleared by the House Ethics Committee.[1]

Murtha faced tough primary challenges in 1982, 1990 and again in 2002. The 1982 challenge came when the Republican-controlled state legislature redrew the district of fellow Democrat and Vietnam War veteran Donald A. Bailey and incorporated most of Westmoreland County into the 12th District. The 2002 challenge came when the state legislature redrew the district of fellow Democrat Frank Mascara to make it more Republican-friendly, but incorporated a large chunk of Mascara's former territory into Murtha's district. Mascara opted to run against Murtha in the Democratic primary since he had represented more of the new 12th than Murtha had. However, Mascara was badly defeated.

Murtha is a moderate Democrat who has taken stances both liberal and conservative. He opposes abortion, consistently receiving a 0% rating from NARAL. However he supports stem-cell research. He generally opposes gun control, earning an A+ from the National Rifle Association. Murtha was also one of the few Democrats in Congress to vote against the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. However, he is strongly pro-labor, and opposed both NAFTA and CAFTA. Like other Democrats, he opposes Bush's tax plan and Social Security privatization. He also opposed the Federal Marriage Amendment. In many respects, with his mildly conservative views on cultural matters and his relatively populist economic outlook, Murtha is representative of the classic Catholic Democrat of the 1930s to 1970s - a constituency that later came to be known as the "Reagan Democrats."

He is generally more hawkish, or supportive of military excursions, than the typical Democrat. He chaired the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense from 1991 to 1995, and has since served as its ranking Democrat.

Recently, he has led the effort of House Democrats to offer a motion to endorse language in a military spending bill, written by Senator John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, a fellow Vietnam veteran, that would prohibit abusive treatment of terror suspects.

Murtha voted for the October 10, 2002 resolution that authorized the use of force against Iraq. However, he later began expressing doubts about the war. On March 17, 2004, when Republicans offered a "War in Iraq Anniversary Resolution" that "affirms that the United States and the world have been made safer with the removal of Saddam Hussein and his regime from power in Iraq," Murtha called for a recorded vote and then voted against it.

Still, in early 2005 Murtha argued against the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. "A premature withdrawal of our troops based on a political timetable could rapidly devolve into a civil war which would leave America’s foreign policy in disarray as countries question not only America’s judgment but also its perseverance," he stated [2].

In May 2005, he said that the problems that the military had in Iraq were due to a "lack of planning" by Pentagon chiefs and "the direction has got to be changed or it is unwinnable."

On November 17, 2005, he created a firestorm when he called for the redeployment of U.S. troops in Iraq, [3] saying, "The U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It is time to bring them home." Murtha later detailed what he was calling for was redeployment as opposed to a withdrawal, noting that he supported the establishment of an "over-the-horizon" presence of Marines within the region.

He has also said that terrorists want an American military presence in Iraq. "I think they’re trying to get this administration to stay. I think they want us there. Because we have united the Iraqis against us. We’re spending all this money and diverting our resources away from the war on terrorism because we’re involved in a civil war in Iraq," says Murtha.

On November 17, 2005, Murtha submitted the following resolution (H.J. Res. 73) in the House of Representatives:

Whereas Congress and the American People have not been shown clear, measurable progress toward establishment of stable and improving security in Iraq or of a stable and improving economy in Iraq, both of which are essential to "promote the emergence of a democratic government";

Whereas additional stabilization in Iraq by U. S. military forces cannot be achieved without the deployment of hundreds of thousands of additional U S. troops, which in turn cannot be achieved without a military draft;

Whereas more than $277 billion has been appropriated by the United States Congress to prosecute U.S. military action in Iraq and Afghanistan;

Whereas, as of the drafting of this resolution, 2,079 U.S. troops have been killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom;

Whereas U.S. forces have become the target of the insurgency,

Whereas, according to recent polls, over 80% of the Iraqi people want U.S. forces out of Iraq;

Whereas polls also indicate that 45% of the Iraqi people feel that the attacks on U.S. forces are justified;

Whereas, due to the foregoing, Congress finds it evident that continuing U.S. military action in Iraq is not in the best interests of the United States of America, the people of Iraq, or the Persian Gulf Region, which were cited in Public Law 107-243 as justification for undertaking such action;

Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That:

Section 1. The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date.

Section 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S Marines shall be deployed in the region.

Section 3 The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy.

The Bush administration sharply criticized Murtha's comments, with Press Secretary Scott McClellan stating that "Congressman Murtha is a respected veteran and politician who has a record of supporting a strong America. So it is baffling that he is endorsing the policy positions of Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic party. The eve of an historic democratic election in Iraq is not the time to surrender to the terrorists. After seeing his statement, we remain baffled -- nowhere does he explain how retreating from Iraq makes America safer."

Murtha's comments forced a heated debate on the floor of the House on November 18. Republicans led by Duncan Hunter of California, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, responded by proposing their own resolution (H. Res. 572) which read:

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated right away.

Republicans said that this resolution was intended to demonstrate that those calling for immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq are "out of the mainstream." Democrats in turn charged that the resolution was a sham that misstated Murtha's position. While Hunter's resolution demanded "the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately," Murtha's resolution included the qualifier that the redeployment take place "at the earliest practicable date" and that a quick-reaction U.S. force would remain in the region in case of emergencies. These provisions were not present in the Republican resolution.

Notwithstanding Murtha's actual resolution, however, his own website's press release for November 17th, 2005, included a call "To immediately redeploy U.S. troops consistent with the safety of U.S. forces." And during his press conference announcing the resolution, Rep. Murtha said:

The United States will immediately redeploy — immediately redeploy. No schedule which can be changed, nothing that’s controlled by the Iraqis, this is an immediate redeployment of our American forces because they have become the target.

Thus, a good argument can be made either way about the similarity of the Republican resolution and the resolution proposed by Rep. Murtha.

The Democrats were also quick to point out that Hunter himself didn't support his own resolution. Murtha took the floor during debate on the resolution after the Democrats yielded all of their time to him, and denounced the Hunter proposal.

As expected, the resolution was overwhelmingly defeated, 403-3, with only three Democrats voting for it.

During debate on adopting the rule for the resolution, Congresswoman Jean Schmidt, a Republican from Ohio, made a statement attributed to Danny Bubp, an Ohio state representative and Marine Corps reservist, "He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: that cowards cut and run, Marines never do."

Seeing Schmidt's remarks as an unwarranted cheap shot against Murtha, outraged Democrats brought House business to a halt for ten minutes until Schmidt herself asked and received permission to withdraw her comments. Bubp has since stated that he never mentioned Murtha when making the quoted comment. He added that he would never question the courage of a fellow Marine. Bubp later said, "I don't want to be interjected into this. I wish (Congresswoman Schmidt) never used my name." [4][5]

On June 9, 2006, Murtha informed Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi that he intends to run for Majority Leader if the Democrats gain control of the House in the 2006 midterm elections. He also said that he would support Pelosi for Speaker of the House.

On May 17, 2006, Murtha announced at a news conference that a military investigation into the deaths of Iraqi civilians at Haditha would show that U.S. Marines "killed innocent civilians in cold blood." The Haditha incident occured on November 19, 2005, and since then there have been differing accounts of exactly what took place. The Marine Corps responded to Murtha's announcement by stating that "there is an ongoing investigation; therefore, any comment at this time would be inappropriate and could undermine the investigatory and possible legal process." [6]

Murtha was criticized by conservatives for allegedly jumping the gun by pre-announcing the results of an investigation that hadn't even concluded yet. The editors of the National Review Online wrote that "the military’s investigation of those claims isn’t finished yet, but Murtha apparently can’t wait for all the facts to emerge before damning the accused." They also claimed that his rhetoric was imbalanced, "cit(ing) the actions of a few sadists as though they were representative of the military." [7]

• Murray, Shailagh (Nov. 25, 2005). "The About-Face of a Hawkish Democrat". Washington Post, pg. A02.
• Murtha Details His Exit Strategy. 60 Minutes. Broadcast by CBS on 2006-01-15.
• Miklaszewski, Jim and Viqueira, Mike (May 17, 2006). "Lawmaker: Marines killed Iraqis ‘in cold blood’". NBC News.

• Official website
• Congressman Murtha's Book From Vietnam to 9/11
• Veteran Lawmakers Allied Against Abuse (Associated Press)
• John Murtha's Iraq Exit Strategy
• H. Res. 557, the "War in Iraq Anniversary resolution"
• 'Unwinnable' comment draws GOP fire (CNN)
• Murtha transcript: The only people who want us in Iraq are Iran, al Qaeda and China
• Murtha calls for change in U.S. Iraq policy (Associated Press)
• USA Today profile
• Rep. Murtha says Rumsfeld, Cheney should resign