So When will Murtha Apologize?

[Merkinball]

JASON MATTERA: Congressman Murtha? Jason Mattera, Young America's Foundation. Now that the murder charges against Lance Corporal Justin Sharratt and Steven Tatum have been dropped in the Haditha incident or are in the process of being dropped, would you like to issue an apology for saying that they "killed innocent civilians in cold blood"?

MURTHA: The trial is still going on.

JASON MATTERA: Justin Sharratt and Steven Tatum, the two men you accused of murdering innocent civilians in cold blood --

MURTHA: The trial is still going on.

JASON MATTERA: No. No, the charges are in the process of being dismissed.

MURTHA: I don't know what's going on.

JASON MATTERA: They're in the process of being dismissed.

MURTHA: Out! Out!

JASON MATTERA: Do you like besmirching our troops, sir? Do you like besmirching our troops, sir?

MURTHA: You been in the service? I enlisted in Korea, and I enlisted in Vietnam.

JASON MATTERA: Sir, you accused them of murdering innocent civilians in cold blood. That's something that would come from Al Jazeera, not a congressman, sir.

http://hotair.com/archives/2007/09/...-murtha-confronted-about-haditha-accusations/

 

[Hero]

Probably right after Bush does for sending us to war over nonexistent WMD.

 

[Shoot the Moon]

This probably isn't the right spot for a thread like this, try the off topic forums.

 

[m4gill4]

LoL @ coming and posting your right wing propaganda at civfanatics forums! Don't you have anything better to do? I think your friends at www.stormfront.org would appreciate this kind of B.S. more than people on a CIVILIZATION FORUM.

 

[Stewbert 08]

For a second there I confused "Haditha" with that other trial where the Marines have already pled guilty to rape and murder. Mahmoudiyah or something like that?

But I guess that proves something in and of itself.

 

[skadistic]

LoL @ coming and posting your right wing propaganda at civfanatics forums! Don't you have anything better to do? I think your friends at www.stormfront.org would appreciate this kind of B.S. more than people on a CIVILIZATION FORUM.

Yes because any one who points out that Murtha did a severe dishonest smear is a raving racist. All right wingers and conservatives are racist too I take it?

 

[Spearthrower]

All these accusations of "besmirching out troops" - isn't that called freedom of speech?

That would be the freedom to make mistakes too and not be smacked down for it by jingoist sycophants.

 

[skadistic]

All these accusations of "besmirching out troops" - isn't that called freedom of speech?

That would be the freedom to make mistakes too and not be smacked down for it by jingoist sycophants.

It would be called slander. And Liable if written. You do not have the freedom to slander a man.

 

[Japanrocks12]

LoL @ coming and posting your right wing propaganda at civfanatics forums! Don't you have anything better to do? I think your friends at www.stormfront.org would appreciate this kind of B.S. more than people on a CIVILIZATION FORUM.

it was slander. read up on it.

 

[Elrohir]

Murtha is a politician. He'll apologize for slandering American troops when Satan buys a winter coat.

 

[amadeus]

Murtha? I'm not interested... at this point.

 

[kamigawan]

This is preposterous. How many innocent Iraqi civilians were killed by US warplanes, cruise missiles, firefights, collateral damage, raids and "surges" before and during the civil war broke out? How many innocent Iraqi civilians died in the overall conflict as a result of the US presence there in the first place?

(Answer: a lot - estimated to be over 600,000, and as high as 1 million.

(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/10/AR2006101001442.html)
(http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-iraq14sep14,1,1207545.story) )

Should Murtha apologize - yeah, probably. But who gives half a care specifically which of those 600,000-1,000,000 killings was premeditated or malicious or accidental or in cold blood or friendly fire or murder. Whatever the motivation, US soldiers are in Iraq, and because of that, many civilians have died, period.

I think that anybody who is more concerned that a comment that may "besmirch the troops" than the loss of 600,000 innocent lives itself needs their head checked.

K.

 

[Fifty]

Murtha ought to apologize or resign regardless of whether they are/were found guilty. Since when was killing terrorists--whether in cold blood or warm--a crime? Those soldiers deserve a parade, not a trial.

 

[Ecofarm]

This is preposterous. How many innocent Iraqi civilians were killed by US warplanes, cruise missiles, firefights, collateral damage, raids and "surges" before and during the civil war broke out? How many innocent Iraqi civilians died in the overall conflict as a result of the US presence there in the first place?

(Answer: a lot - estimated to be over 600,000, and as high as 1 million.

(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/10/AR2006101001442.html)
(http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-iraq14sep14,1,1207545.story) )

1. The LA Times article quotes some obscure "poll" that questioned 1400 "random" Iraqis and, from this poll, estimated the number of people died total = BS.

2.The Washington post article:

A team of American and Iraqi epidemiologists estimates that 655,000 more people have died in Iraq since coalition forces arrived in March 2003 than would have died if the invasion had not occurred.

The estimate, produced by interviewing residents during a random sampling of households throughout the country, is far higher than ones produced by other groups, including Iraq's government.

It is more than 20 times the estimate of 30,000 civilian deaths that President Bush gave in a speech in December. It is more than 10 times the estimate of roughly 50,000 civilian deaths made by the British-based Iraq Body Count research group.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/10/AR2006101001442.html

So, we have estimates of 30k and 50k civilian casualties of war. We also have "poll" derrived numbers of 600k and 1.2m total dead since invasion. I hardly think this justifies statements such as: "How many innocent Iraqi civilians were killed by US... (Answer: a lot - estimated to be over 600,000, and as high as 1 million." Also note, the estimate of 600k (and presumably the 1m estimate as well) include ALL deaths (old age, disease, domestic murders, insurgent atacks, auto accidents, lung cancer, etc....). Want to blame all of those on America and tag the US for 600k? Seriously?

Saddam, during the late 80s Kurd purge, killed a more accurately estimated 150-250k. Gassed em in towns by the thousand. Sent a million or more refugees to other countries, and slaughtered thousands more in the swamp south and political dungeons. Saddam's sequestering of food aid for military stockpile is accredited with killing 400k children via malnutrition and starvation. If you want credible estimates of staggering deaths, you are going to have to look pre-invasion (see also: Iran-Iraq War).

Should Murtha apologize - yeah, probably. But who gives half a care specifically which of those 600,000-1,000,000 killings was premeditated or malicious or accidental or in cold blood or friendly fire or murder. Whatever the motivation, US soldiers are in Iraq, and because of that, many civilians have died, period.

I think that anybody who is more concerned that a comment that may "besmirch the troops" than the loss of 600,000 innocent lives itself needs their head checked.

K.

No matter how many times you repeat the same inaccurate numbers (do you really mean to blame ALL deaths in Iraq on America?), it will not make them any more relavant to anti-american behavior in the congress of the US. Treason, really.

 

[Hero]

So does Iraq get to sue W (or more specifically former CIA director George Tenet who called the case for Iraq WMD a "slam dunk") for slander for claiming it had weapons of mass destruction? Has he apologized for the war? Perhaps Murtha should simply explain that his claim that the US soldiers in question had killed innocent Iraqi civilians was based on the best intelligence available to him at the time. Then all is forgiven, right? Perhaps Iraq could at least request that W ask Tenet to return the Presidential Medal of Freedom given to him by W.

 

[JollyRoger]

Jason Mattera, fighting them over here so he doesn't have to fight them over there.

 

[FoxURA]

Personally I don't think Murtha will apologize. That will take something many career politicians lack. Responsibility. If he had this trait he will admit to being wrongs since the evidence clearly shows that he was.

 

[Bill3000]

Yes because any one who points out that Murtha did a severe dishonest smear is a raving racist. All right wingers and conservatives are racist too I take it?

no, just those against immigration

 

[MobBoss]

For a second there I confused "Haditha" with that other trial where the Marines have already pled guilty to rape and murder. Mahmoudiyah or something like that?

But I guess that proves something in and of itself.

Proves you dont know much about either situation.

Murtha wont ever say he was sorry. To do so would be to admit he was wrong. He should have been canned back in his abscam days.

 

[JohnRM]

Murtha is an idiot. I think we've established that fact. Don't expect him to apologize anytime soon, cause liberals are never wrong. If they are ever wrong, then you're wronger.