Murtha(Conservative Dem PA) on Iraq: 'Tough time prevailing'

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04228/361965.stm

Rep. John P. Murtha warns that the situation in Iraq is deteriorating and unless the United States is able to either train Iraqi soldiers more quickly or enlist more aid from other countries, "We are going to have a tough time prevailing."

The Johnstown Democrat, a congressional veteran with a reputation for expertise on military issues, offered his reservations about Iraq in a wide-ranging interview that airs today on the "KD-PG Sunday Edition." Murtha said he believed that the United States had little chance of gaining more foreign help in Iraq as long as President Bush remained in office. He maintained that the president had lost international credibility over the failure to uncover weapons of mass destruction in the aftermath of the war.

Murtha defended Sen. John Kerry against attacks on his war record, and made clear that he believed that Kerry's election was essential to progress in Iraq. The former Marine volunteered, however, that he disagreed with Kerry's war protests after returning from Vietnam and said that, while Kerry's Navy service had earned him the right to his anti-war opinions, he believed his statements 30 years ago had hurt that war effort.

Murtha strongly supported the Bush administration in the months prior to the decision to go to war in Iraq, but this was not the first time in recent weeks that he had offered a dire assessment on the prospects for the war. After a previous statement of concern for the administration handling of the situation, Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, the House majority leader, accused Murtha of politicizing the war.

"This is what they say to anybody who disagrees with them," Murtha said. "This is part of their problem .... You need to hear the bad news, and that is part of the problem with this administration."