Rep. John Murtha has demanded an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq for months. Now he's demanding another stand-down, but this time he's telling Israel to declare defeat and go home:

Pennsylvania's Rep. John Murtha said yesterday that he favored an immediate cease-fire in the fighting in Lebanon. ...

Mr. Murtha, speaking yesterday at a Post-Gazette editorial board meeting, was asked if he favored a cease-fire in the campaign north of Israel's border.

"I think so," he said. "I think it would be very difficult to justify continuing on."

Referring to the Bush administration's position, he said: "You know, they say, 'Well, we want a long-term cease-fire.' It seems to me you start with a cease-fire, and then you try to work out the details long term. If you don't, and you continue to have heavy-handed military action -- and I support heavy-handed military action because it saves your own troops -- but it creates enemies, and that's the problem we have."

Mr. Murtha said the fighting risked hardening against Israel the "hearts and minds" of Lebanese civilians within the general population, beyond Israel's entrenched enemies in the Shiite militia.

John Murtha has made himself into the paragon of Democratic tenacity in wartime, only now he wants Israel to follow his example -- after Hezbollah attacked them. He trots out the same old "hearts and minds" line that we have heard since Viet Nam, only he fails to realize that for Israel, surrender will not endear it to their neighbors. Israel withdrew from Lebanon six years ago, and Hezbollah has lobbed missiles and conducted border raids ever since. Surrender has not worked for the Israelis; Islamists hate them just the same, and only get emboldened by their efforts to act peacefully.

For this reason, as well as for his impulse to declare fellow Marines guilty of murder without benefit of trial, Murtha will have a tougher time convincing his constituents to return him to Congress. Many of them supported the veteran Marine because of his service record, and understandably so. However, Murtha has dissipated that asset with this kind of incessant defeatism and knee-jerk capitulationism. Considering that Bush probably won this district in 2004 (gerrymanderings makes it difficult to say definitively), the Republicans certainly have a shot at a win here in PA-12.

Some have challenged the wisdom of including Diana Irey in our Rightroots campaign, which has raised over $25,000 to date for the eighteen races we selected. Irey leads all fundraisers at Rightroots, with over $5,000 in contributions. Given Murtha's wide lead in fundraising and his electoral record, that skepticism is understandable. (The Florida Masochist elected us his Knuckleheads of the Day for being, well, masochists.) I don't share his defeatism. Murtha ran unopposed in 2004, but a lot has happened since then, and none of it reflects well on Murtha. Despite his financial advantage, which we hope to dent just a bit, he's going to be vulnerable to a serious challenge in the fall.

We don't win by ducking a fight. We learned that despite John Murtha and his defeatism, and we want to work as hard as we can to replace him with someone who supports a forward strategy for the war on terror -- someone who understands that terrorists do not abide by cease fires and the rules of war. Diana Irey deserves our support in showing the courage to challenge John Murtha for his Congressional seat, and I'm pleased to have her as part of our Rightroots initiative.

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» Murtha and CAIR want an Immediate Cease Fire in Lebanon from Morning Coffee
Consistant with his 100% approval rating with the Council on American-Islamic Relations John Cut-N-Run Murtha wants an immediate Cease-Fire in Lebanon. Irregardless that a Cease fire would do nothing more than return to the same situation that brought... [Read More]

Tracked on August 3, 2006 9:28 AM

» Murtha Waves The White Flag FOR Israel from Gulf Coast Pundit
Now Murtha Wants To Surrender For Other Nations Rep. John Murtha has demanded an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq for months. Now he’s demanding another stand-down, but this time he’s telling Israel to declare defeat and go home... [Read More]

Tracked on August 3, 2006 10:24 AM

» John Murtha Must Be French from Hyscience
There comes a time in the lives of some men, when they cease being simply misinformed and exercise poor judgement, and become an old fool with no common sense. [Read More]

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» John Murtha Must Be French from Hyscience
There comes a time in the lives of some men, when they cease being simply misinformed and exercise poor judgement, and become an old fool with no common sense. [Read More]

Tracked on August 3, 2006 10:33 AM

» John Murtha Must Be French from Hyscience
There comes a time in the lives of some men, when they cease being simply misinformed and exercise poor judgement, and become an old fool with no common sense. [Read More]

Tracked on August 3, 2006 10:35 AM

» John Murtha Must Be French from Hyscience
There comes a time in the life of some men, when they cease being simply misinformed and exercise poor judgement, and become an old fool with no common sense. [Read More]

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» Haw-Haw & Blah-Blah from Hard Starboard
The consequences are that Wuterich and three other Marines from his 3rd battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, are under criminal investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigation Service - which itself belies Murtha's smear of their superiors as having per... [Read More]

Tracked on August 7, 2006 9:05 PM