STANDING UP FOR JOHN MURTHA AND U.S. VETERANS

Last week, Rep. John Murtha ignited a firestorm by denouncing the Bush Administration’s failed Iraq policy, and calling on the United States to adopt a “change in direction” to better serve coalition forces, the Iraqi people, and our foreign policy as a whole.

Right wing reactionaries quickly denounced Murtha, a decorated Vietnam Veteran with unflappable national security credentials, as calling for a “cut and run” from Iraq.   

As a fellow Marine who spent much of his career doing “contingency planning” in places like South Korea, Kosovo, and Somalia, I would argue that Congressman Murtha is simply advocating for a victory strategy that reallocates military resources in light of the ever-changing realities on the ground, by:

1. Putting more Iraqis in control, which is what Iraqis want, and what Generals Casey and Abizaid have identified as central components to our counter-insurgency strategy.
2. Moving large numbers of U.S. forces out of the line of fire to which our occupation has made us magnets.
3. Enabling the U.S. to focus scarce resources on training Iraqis, caring for our wounded and their families, and promoting greater internationalization of the reconstruction of a stable, free Iraq.
4. Re-deploying U.S. forces “over the horizon“ in places like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, or Turkey—allowing Iraqis to control their own destiny, while safely positioning our forces to respond quickly in the event that a post-occupation Iraq becomes a threat to regional or national security.   

Some are calling for more troops. More troops along the borders might have prevented the insurgency’s growth 2 ½ years ago, but would be counter-productive today. In November 2005 Iraq, we have achieved our military objective of regime change, and are viewed as an unwelcome foreign “occupier” by more than 80% of Iraqis. More troops means more targets in an increasingly anti-occupation environment.

Perhaps most important, Murtha has brought the murky problem of failed leadership into plain view---noting that a lack of constructive debate about the administration’s policy and an absence of shared sacrifice for this war have forced U.S. service personnel and their families to bear its costs, and failed strategy, almost entirely alone.

Interestingly, the concept of “shared sacrifice” has not only failed to consistently make news, but it has failed to illicit a response from officials at all levels of government. As a veteran, I believe patriotism means sharing the burdens that national security requires—exemplified not only through our conduct of military operations, but through our long-term responsibility to veterans and their families. Therefore, we must ask:

1. Why has the administration pursued tax cuts, corporate welfare, and record deficits during the Iraq War?
2. Why has the VA been under funded by more than $1billion in each of the past two years?
3. What is being done about the Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who are showing up in homeless shelters and prisons across America?
4. Why are Republicans calling for “offsets” in social service programs instead of shared sacrifice in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita?
5. Why is Military recruitment at record lows?
6. How will Reservists and National Guardsmen find civilian jobs if their employers know they can be snatched away for repeated, extended deployments at any time?
7. Why has California not yet passed AB 1525 (Levine), which would close a corporate tax loophole to fund a health insurance credit for California National Guard families.
8. Why did California defer more than $98million in Federal Funds for construction of VA Healthcare facilities in 2004?

In closing, Rep. Murtha is NOT trying lay blame, or re-hash the bungling of prewar intelligence. He’s leading a constructive re-evaluation of America’s military strategy in Iraq, and our country’s obligation to share the sacrifice of war with veterans and their families. There is nothing unpatriotic about elected representatives questioning the merits of public policy when thousands of lives and America’s credibility around the world hangs in the balance.  

Semper Fidelis,
Jim Cook
Candidate for the California Assembly, 10th District
9542 Laguna Lake Way
Elk Grove, CA 95758