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Murtha Briefed By Marine Source After His “Cold Blooded” Comment

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Uh oh, ABSCAM Jack is having trouble keeping his story straight now. (h/t – GatewayPundit).

General Briefed Murtha After Murder Comment – Associated Press

The head of the U.S. Marine Corps briefed Rep. John Murtha on the Haditha case after the vocal war critic publicly said Marines had killed innocent civilians in that Iraqi city, the Corps said on Thursday.

Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, is being sued by one of the accused Marines for libel. He had told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Gen. Michael Hagee had given him the information on which he based his charge that Marines killed innocent civilians.

But a spokesman for the Marine Corps said Hagee briefed Murtha on May 24 about Haditha. Murtha had made comments on the case as early as May 17.

A Two-Front War For Murtha – Philadelphia Inquirer

Asked about this in the interview, Murtha said the information came from Gen. Michael Hagee, the commandant of the Marine Corps, in a one-on-one conversation the day before Hagee made a trip to Iraq. Hagee did not use the term “in cold blood,” he added.

Col. Dave Lapan, a Marine spokesman, disputed Murtha’s account.

He said the commandant did brief Murtha about the Haditha incident. But he said that was on May 24, a week after Murtha made his public comment. The next day, May 25, Hagee left for Iraq, he said.

I have reserved judgment on all of these “military gone murdering” stories, since the “Koran down the toilet at Gitmo” story turned out to be a lie.  So I would have hoped that a Congressman and former Marine would have the same courtesy to consider his fellow Marines “innocent until proven guilty.”  But Murtha did not.  He convicted them in the media even though (at the time) the investigation wasn’t complete and no charges have been filed (as of today).  It is quite possible there will be charges in Haditha, but at the time of Murtha’s outrage that was not clear at all.

I would agree that Murtha as well as a number of his fellow Democrats in the House and Senate are indeed “Fifth Columnists.”

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines fifth column as “a group of secret sympathizers or supporters of an enemy that engage in espionage or sabotage within defense lines or national borders.”

I certainly do not see MadLibDems acting like they want America to win World War III.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Comments

  2. Murtha’s seat is one of the most vulnerable ones for the demoncRATS to defend. Irey is running a solid race against Jack and may boot him out a la Cynthia “here’s my cell phone” McKinney.

    Translation for IanRajSybil – no RAT takeover of the House.

    Regards,
    Peter H.

  5. Bruce, another GREAT post and good follow-up; thanks for the added insights plus alerting us to the fact that Murtha’s political-allies in the MSM forgot to check on whether he was lying about the briefing dates. That guy is as slimy as Cunningham and as corrupt as Pelosi… God, Congress brings out the best in America, eh?

    Hmmm, at least he didn’t throw a cell phone at any security guards at the Capitol…. yet.

    I hadn’t heard of “5th Column” before –but this site has some IN-sight for those lefties who need cites. http://www.factbites.com/topics/Fifth-column

    I love former Marine Murtha’s comment: “To call me a fifth-columnist, I cannot believe that.”

    There are a lot of patriots that can’t believe a former Marine would denigrate our soldiers and our country’s ability to prosecute the WOT by jumping to conclusions, using accusations about soldiers to advance his partisan leadership interests and hazarding justice and fair play just to grab headlines.

    I wonder, who else would be on that 5th Column list right now? Surely carry-overs from the VietNam War like JaneFonda and TomHayden. I’d put all those “human shields” that went over to Iraq before the invasion and tried to give Saddam PR cover.

    Maybe Ramsey Clark? CindyZero, MichaelMoore & ProfWardChurchill are easy choices. Code Pink? ANSWER? TheNationofIslam and all those black muslims serving time in prison?

    How about the ACLU given their singular effort to gut important security laws or protect foreign terrorists?

    Of course, the thing that unites all these people is that they are Leftists, Democrats or behavioral Democrats, and BlameAmericaFirst.

    I wonder who else should be added to the 5th Column?

    Great post Bruce, thanks.

  6. And don’t forget the defeatist statements of liberal Democratic Congressman Jo Bonner, who said recently:

    “We may look back and say we gave it our best shot and we did everything we could do to make it a success. And at the end of the day we could not make people accept the gift of freedom.”

    Don’t the liberals like Congressman Jo Bonner realize that they are helping al-Qaeda by openly questioning our ability to win? Doesn’t he WANT us to win?

  7. I think people like Murtha already see this as lost war. A war we never should have begun. I think a lot of people agree with them. I’m not sure what winning would actually be. I think Murtha is denigrating how the war is being carried out, but not the troops themselves. I think his point was that our own troops have been driven to such heinous acts because Bush et al. have no idea what they’re doing. The troops are underfunded, the situation is complete chaos. I don’t think his criticism was directed at the individuals involved, but at the unjust war in general. Also, I wonder if anyone bashing Murtha believes that his claims are false. The PI article quoted here seems to confirm his claim, regardless of when he made his comments. We’ll have to wait for more info, but so far, it doesn’t look good.

  8. You don’t think that’s denigrating the troops, charlie?

    By “excusing” the guilty (or presumably guilty) he’s calling every good man, every soldier who behaves professionally, everyone of them who *doesn’t* murder, a murderer. Because it’s not *them* it’s their situation.

    It’s actually a bit as though someone pointed to a pedophile and said, “It’s not his fault, he can’t help that he’s gay.” Would you see that as NOT bashing gays?

    Murtha’s comments, much like yours, that it’s the horrible situation that the soldiers can’t help that is to blame, is very much the same. None of them are responsible for their situation and ALL of them are just a random act away from criminal violence.

  9. sorry, Murtha is right. we can’t afford to have incidents like these. if they can’t hold it together they should find another line of work. it isn’t only barbaric it endangers the mission.

  10. As I’ve said before… all Murtha would have had to do is state his confidence that the Marine Corp would get to the bottom of it and if the reports were true that the guilty would be punished. He could even have said that he, in his position of Congressman, would ensure that all dilligence was taken. As a Congressman he has the power to do exactly that.

    What he did instead was publically state as fact that Marines had killed civilians in “cold blood.” (Not even in “hot” retaliation or the haze of war.) Then he said it was clear that there was a cover-up that went all the way to the top, which he immediately softened with weasel words. And then he said that he supported the troops, after all no one in the situation can be expected to be a moral human being… playing to the popular image of US soldiers as strung out baby-killers.

    Active duty military are, in case you didn’t realize this, forbidden by law to criticize Congress persons or Senators. Our military is subordinate (with good reason) to civilian leadership.

    For most of those with the freedom to speak… Murtha is an EX- Marine.

    And may I just take this opportunity to say…

    OKINAWA!!

  11. #10 Every incident like this, or *allegation* of an incident like this endangers the mission. No one in uniform wants people without self control to be standing at their side holding a weapon.

    But Murtha is wrong. He’s wrong because as much as an incident or allegation of an incident endangers the mission, what he did multiplied that a thousand fold. Either he’s too stupid to live or he really and truely cares zip about harming the mission. Could he have not *realized* that he was multiplying the damage to our reputations? Or was he just thinking about his reputation with Code Pink?

  12. Synova, I think Murtha was more concerned about keeping the spotlight “heated” and on him –in an effort to become majority leader if he wins re-election, the House goes Democrat and his colleagues vote him into the caucus position.

    It’s what animates him and hundreds of other Congressional players –the lust for power and the greed for higher office.

    His willingness to use any tragedy or event as a steppingstone in that lustful desire for partisan glory makes him a 5th Column guy 100%. I hope he gets swiftboated.

  16. sorry, Murtha is right.

    Yeah so long as it can be used politically to bash Bush. Murtha can drop down, fifth level & cook. He’s hell bent on making sure that Iraq devolves into the worst civi war in history guaranteeing that we’ll have to send our troops into a worse mess than they could conceive now under the guise that he gives a damn about them.

    If you think Iraq is a disaster now, imagine how it will be when we surrender. It will be the Mog all over again and somebody will have to go it and fix it. The thing is that if we do what Murtha and his fellow Massengills want, they will turn around later and blame Bush. That’s why Murtha and his fellow liberals MUST be defeated and sent back to the fiery pits of Hell from whenst they came.

  17. Kevin erroneously writes: “demoncrats. that’s a good good one. why not a thread on how much you folks can twist the word democracy… ”

    I don’t condone the use of demoncrats anymore than I do Christianist, RePuglicans, BushCo, Chimpey or malAdminstration –as many from the GayLeft here use often, repeatedly, and usually in ranting anger.

    But I think the root of the word for demoncrats isn’t “democracy”, Kevin… it Democrats.

    Was that a try at spinning the use of “demoncrats” into something that suggests Peter is against democracy? Because to posit that is wildly out of touch with reality.

  18. #17 Michigan-Matt — August 5, 2006 @ 9:44 am – August 5, 2006

    I don’t condone the use of demoncrats anymore than I do Christianist, RePuglicans, BushCo, Chimpey or malAdminstration…

    Oh, but you do condone the use of “Debbie the StupidCow” for the monickeer of a MI state senator. Interesting choice of hypocrisy. Are you of the Bill Bennett Book of (some peoples’ but not mine) Virtues crowd?

  19. thatgay- my point is if people are patrolling the streets in our name and they aren’t capaable of doing so without losing their marbles, we need to get \rid of them as quickly as possible.

    We’ve been there for 3 and a half years. That is more time and tax $$ than I would be willing to a president i HAD voted for.

  21. Until the DNC comes to its senses and roots out the Murtha/Sheehan/Kos Kids/Dean fringe of its party, I will continue to call them as I see them – demoncRATS. Or RATS for short, if you will.

    First Amendment, folks…

    Regards,
    Peter H.

  22. My, my, lookee here http://tinyurl.com/ejj27:

    “Mark Zaid, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit this week against Jack Murtha on behalf of the Marine staff sergeant in Haditha, has now written a letter to Rep. John Kline (R-MN) advising Kline that he will be added as a defendant to the lawsuit along with Murtha unless he apologizes for statements he made about Haditha and expresses regret for “publicly prejudging” the guilt of the Marines.”

    Zaid has also apparently offered to drop the lawsuit against Murtha if he apologizes. Looks like the swiftboaters got cold feet when it became clear that they couldn’t go after Murtha without also going after one of their own so suddenly a little apology from both Congressmen will make the lawsuit vanish. Greewald also notes that Kline is the Congressman of John Hindraker who has been outspoken in his criticism of Murtha’s comments while strangely silent about right winger Kline’s. Bruce has posted twice on this story, I wonder if there’ll be a third detailing this latest turn of events.

  23. raj, feeling the sting of righteous criticism once again writes at #18 “Oh, but you do condone the use of “Debbie the StupidCow” for the monickeer of a MI state senator. Interesting choice of hypocrisy.”

    raj, you are still not worthy of debate. Atone for the past sins, well noted in prior threads, and then we can debate. Still then, no go.

  24. #22 Ian — August 6, 2006 @ 12:18 am – August 6, 2006

    No surprise.

    Greewald also notes that Kline is the Congressman of John Hindraker…

    Hinderaker–I could make a pun out of his name, as Matty and his foil V the K have done with others, but I’ll refrain–is obviously a Republican party aparatchick, as is his “law” partner. And according to their weblog “Power(less)Line” they are both “fellows” of the far-right wingnut operation known as the Claremont Institute.

  26. #23 Michigan-Matt — August 6, 2006 @ 8:48 am – August 6, 2006

    Lest there be any hole in the narrative, I will merely acknowledge the fact that I have read this comment.

  28. I\’m sure there are many here who would be interested in why it\’s OK for you to refer to an elected Democrat as a stupid cow but then turn around and object to milder characterizations of Republicans. Instead of just evading the fact that it\’s hypocritical to do so, what don\’t you either explain your stance or simply admit you\’re wrong?

    [Comment edited.]

  29. So just because you quote it from a tinyurl source it is to be taken as gospel?

    What if we don\’t agree with their interpretation of the facts? Hmmm?

    Regards,
    Peter H.

    [Comment edited.]

  30. #29: The facts are not in dispute: when faced with the fact that a conservative Republican Congressman had made similar statements to those of Murtha, the lawsuit suddenly becomes expendable if the parties issue apologies. Kline’s statements were no big secret but the right including Bruce ignored them and focussed on attacking Murtha. Greenwald called them on their inconsistency and now they’re backing down.

    BTW, the tinyurl extension for Firefox is very useful – you might wish to try it sometime.

  32. Talk about logic. Asking people to apologize for public slander as a condition of dropping a suit is deciding it’s not important? I’d be happy with a Murtha apology (so long as it actually included the worlds “I was wrong.”)

    Kline? Who the heck is Kline? Oh, I can see how he rates every single bit as much condemnation as Murtha… after all, he’s got the same national stature of Murtha. Why I remember someone saying that Kline was the most influential Republican when it comes to Defense. That’s what they say about Murtha, right? And Kline is all over the national media, just like Murtha, and has a distinguished Viet Nam military career to boot, which is constantly cited as a source of authority for all things military.

    It’s not like *other* democratic Congressmen and women haven’t said things even more moronic than Murtha… why the heck aren’t people all over *them*, huh? But Kline and Murtha… they represent the military in the public mind… get invited to do news commentary on military strategy… Kline’s face is every bit as recognizable as Murtha… a counterpart. If Dems get the house Murtha is on board to move into leadership. If Repubs keep it, it will be Kline heading that committee on National Security, bet on it.

    Sheesh.

  34. #32: A lawsuit for defamation doesn’t require that the person accused of defaming be of “national stature.” Someone spent a lot of money starting that lawsuit and I’ll bet it wasn’t out of the soldier’s pocket. Of course, adding a conservative Republican to the suit would negate its “value” in swiftboating Murtha so the apology fig leaf is put forward to allow a quick retreat from the whole thing without making it completely obvious what was going on.

  35. #32 Synova — August 6, 2006 @ 9:17 pm – August 6, 2006

    Kline? Who the heck is Kline? Oh, I can see how he rates every single bit as much condemnation as Murtha… after all, he’s got the same national stature of Murtha. Why I remember someone saying that Kline was the most influential Republican when it comes to Defense. That’s what they say about Murtha, right?

    Unless John Murtha is your congressman, I doubt very seriously that you would have heard of him before that idiot Republican congesswoman from Ohio, Jeanne Schmidt, lambasted him on C-SPAN, which lambasting was picked up by the radio&TV network feeds. I certainly hadn’t. I hadn’t heard of John Kline, either, until this rather silly lawsuit was filed, and others picked up on the fact that Kline had said something similarly silly (as Murtha’s) also in public.

    Let’s understand something. Murtha should not have said what he said in public regarding what was apparently an ongoing investigation by the military. Neither, for that matter, should have Kline. But this defamation lawsuit is just silly. One wonders how many people had heard the name of the plaintiff Wuterich in connection with the Haditha incident–or would have even remembered it–before he filed his lawsuit. As far as I can tell from the various reports I have seen, Murtha hadn’t even mentioned Wuterich’s name. But now that Wuterich filed the lawsuit, in a very public manner, by the way, he has linked himself to Murtha’s comments. So, even if a jury were to have found that there might have been defamation by Murtha in a nebulous sense–that is, to Wuterich’s unit, but not necessarily to any specific individual–it was Wuterich that drew attention to himself. Damages owed by Murtha to Wuterich? Zero.

    Wuterich might have believed that Murtha’s comments injured his pride, but that doesn’t mean that Wuterich himself was defamed or that he is due any damages.

  36. #27 rightwingprof — August 6, 2006 @ 11:22 am – August 6, 2006

    I’m still waiting for those imaginary studies he did.

    To channel Adlai Stevenson, you’ll be waiting until hell freezes over before you will get any more comment from me on that issue.

  37. #27 rightwingprof — August 6, 2006 @ 11:22 am – August 6, 2006

    I’m still waiting for those imaginary studies he did.

    To channel Adlai Stevenson, you’ll be waiting until hell freezes over before you will get any more comment from me on that issue.

  39. NDXXX, raj has channelled Adali (I hope he doesn’t haunt raj for that indelicate attitude and slander on Stevenson by raj) and Neville and even der Furher at times.

    Ahhh to be raj and able to channel so many losers to your side.

  40. Just like Shrillary claimed to channel Eleanor Roosevelt in the White House. Figures she’d pick the butchest first lady to converse with.

    Well, like they say, birds of a feather…

    Regards,
    Peter H.

  41. #39 Michigan-Matt — August 7, 2006 @ 4:18 pm – August 7, 2006

    NDXXX, raj has channelled Adali…

    Aside from the fact that it is spelled Adlai, I could not have expected NDXXX to understand the source of the reference. It’s unclear that you did, either, given your inability to tinkle the plastic ivories to spell the name correctly.