Congressman John Murtha Endorses Clinton
March 19, 2008 by Dan Solis
Congressman John Murtha, (D-Pennsylvania) has endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton. Murtha, a superdelegate, gained national attention in 2006 when he came out to strongly oppose the war in Iraq.
“I’ve known Senator Clinton for fifteen years. I know that she continually reaches out for opinions and ideas not just from our nation’s leaders, but from all Americans.
“In ten months, President Bush will leave office. Our country is worse off today than when he took office over seven years ago.
“Senator Clinton is the candidate that will forge a consensus on health care, education, the economy, and the war in Iraq.
“This week, she highlighted the policy failures in Iraq and addressed the real challenges we face in regards to rebuilding our military, restoring our readiness and fully preparing our armed forces to meet and deter future threats. I know that Senator Clinton has a similar position that I have in regards to the war in Iraq.
“Her experience and careful consideration of these issues convinced me that she is best qualified to lead our nation and to bring credibility back to the White House.
“Therefore, I whole-heartedly endorse her candidacy and recommend to all Pennsylvanians, and all Americans, that they vote
for Senator Hillary Clinton for President of the United States.” [NYTimes.com]
John Murtha understands it’s time to get serious about responsibly ending the war in Iraq, and Senator Clinton is the one to get the job done.
Murtha should have better judgement than that, I’m rather disappointed with him. I thought that he was advocating against the Iraq war. Clinton has made statements before that she would leave residual troop forces in Iraq for an undetermined amount of time and that these forces would still run combat missions in Iraq. She has no estimate on her official website for the number of months that it will take for United States troops to have fully exited Iraq. Mr. Solis, I know that you like Senator Clinton, but she’s just much too conservative for my own liking. Now, please, don’t become defensive, my purpose is not to insult you. But why not evaluate Senator Clinton’s position on the Iraq War issue, rather than repeatedly asserting that Clinton is the one to get the job done? Evaluate it, you don’t have to change your mind, just have another look at it.
Here’s a news story from the International Herald Tribune addressing this:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/15/news/clinton.php
What I note especially about this article are these two paragraphs:
In outlining how she would handle Iraq, Clinton articulated a more nuanced position than the one she provides at campaign events, where she has backed the goal of bringing the troops home,” a stance that pleases many of the Democratic voters she needs to win her party’s nomination.
Rather, she said there were “remaining vital national security interests in Iraq” that would require an ongoing deployment of troops.
End of excerpt from article. Mr. Solis, what do you think that these vital national security interests in Iraq are? Could it be the same national security interests that caused George W. Bush to invade Iraq? What I am suggesting is that “vital national security interests” is code for oil.
She makes a statement later in the article that directly makes note of Iraq’s connection with oil:
She said it would matter to the United States if Iraq became a failed state that “serves as a petri dish for insurgents or Al Qaeda.”
“It is right in the heart of the oil region,” she said. “It is directly in opposition to our interests, to the interests of regimes, to Israel’s interests.”
End of excerpt from the article. Mr. Solis, I would be very glad if you could prove me all wrong about Senator Clinton and her Iraq policy. I don’t go around purposefully trying to target Senator Clinton and find something wrong with everything that she says, but I am really quite disturbed (though possibly misguidedly) with respect to her Iraq policy. Can you explain it? Or, could you make any other comments on the article? I would be interested to hear your thoughts on it, about whether or not I am interpreting it wrongly.
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Re: Murtha endorses Hillary
Congressman Murtha told us when he visits Arlington cemetery of the fallen soldiers he gets emotional. Who voted for Iraq war? Obama or Hillary?
A sleep deprived Hillary can not clearly remember what happened to her in Bosnia. Now who do you think should pick up emergency call to White House at 3 am? a sleep deprived Hillary or Obama?
In senate race 2006 when Pennsylvania needed help to support Bob Casey. Who came to help Bob Casey? Hillary or Obama? Using Hillary’s word “Shame on You” congressman Murtha.
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