Thursday, November 17, 2005

All I Want For My Birthday Is A Crack In The Empire

John Murtha calls for an end to the occupation of Iraq.

7 comments:

Scott W. said...

Care to revise your statement about the Democrats being the weak link?

I could be wrong again, but I think we may be hearing the rumble of a stampede...

(Bill Clinton was in the news today calling the Iraq war a mistake. Oh, now he says it...)

Fons said...

Notice their position is not immediate withdrawal. They want to claim the mantle of anti-war while at the same time maintaining US power in Iraq because the country has now shifted to the anti-war position. A lot like Nixon did during his "withdrawal" from Vietnam when a million or so more Southeast Asians were killed and 20,000 or so more US soldiers were killed. Now is when the anti-war movement needs to pressure the rulers even more, particularly the Democrats. US OUT NOW!

Scott W. said...

I'm not sure what "their" position is. Murtha's calling for immediate withdrawal, right? And I thought I read Nancy Pelosi was backing him. Maybe I'm confused. In any case, the call to withdraw, however it is couched, seems to be coming more from Dems. I understand why you oppose "Vietnamification" under a different name, though.

Did you see the Ivo Daalder thing in TPM cafe?
http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/11/17/14400/895
he is for an immediate pullout ... maybe in a month ... ish

Anonymous said...

no offence fons but it's gonna take more than a birthday wish to crack the imperialist system....its about time to get active...

Scott W. said...

I don't think it's possible to understate what a big deal the Murtha thing is. Murtha is the kind of Democrat that Anton regularly blasts for being imperialist, war-mongering, etc etc etc...
For him to call for an immediate pullout, that's a jaw-dropper.

Oh, and I was wrong about Pelosi. She basically refused to endorse his position. Or, one could argue, she's letting him break the ice and take the shots and she'll come out when its safer. Not terribly admirable in any case.

Fons said...

Resolution: "It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately."

Defeated 403 to 3.

Rep. John Murtha's resolution would force the president to withdraw the nearly 160,000 troops in Iraq "at the earliest practicable date." It would establish a quick-reaction force and a nearby presence of Marines in the region. It also said the U.S. must pursue stability in Iraq through diplomacy. Associated Press

Anonymous said...

yeah