Anyone else surprised at Rep Murtha's speeches?

He was a very compelling speaker yesterday and last night. I have to be honest, I have not seen a series of speeches as good as his in a long time and I was very surprised after seeing his very first speech on the 17th.

I've never seen a more powerful, obviously historical speech given by a government official in my 41 years. I felt like I was witnessing a speech by FDR or something.

I had to go to a play at my daughters school. Where can I find the text?

Washington."

which Democrat will give THE speech dealing with the impact of the neocon model on the looting of national assets and the increased impoverishment on the poor and middle class. The speech must incorporate the disasters in NOLA, Florida, etc, the culture of corruption, the votes in the legislature against the poor and middle class and the way forward.

The time is ripe for this.

Truth To Power.

Conservatives already know this truth in their hardened hearts but old Vulcan habits are hard to break. Being of sound mind, Dems like Murtha are just now putting into words what the situation has long ago evolved to. Even some conservatives are now realizing this, as today's Newsday column by James Pinkerton shows

Slaughter of Sunni foes is inevitable
http://www.newsday.com/news/columnists/ny-vppin4515723nov17,0,3856377.column?coll=ny-rightrail-columnist

"But while the intensity of hatred in Iraq is oceanic, the killing is a comparative drizzle. Why? Because the U.S. military is preventing an out-and-out civil war. In the words of Edward Luttwak, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., "Ironically, Americans troops are now interposed between the insurgents and our allies in Iraq, in effect protecting our enemies from our friends."

That is, the U.S. military has chosen to interpose itself between the Sunnis, on the one side, and the Shia and the Kurds on the other. So it's GIs operating in the Sunni Triangle, getting picked off with increasing frequency: November 2005 is shaping up as the fifth-deadliest month for Americans in Iraq in the 33 months of fighting, according to globalsecurity.org. Yes, increasingly well-equipped Shia and Kurds are also involved in those anti-Sunni military operations, but Americans of the Gen. Horst-like ethical persuasion are preventing those anti-Sunni Iraqis from massacring the Sunnis as they come across them.

Yet, in the history of warfare, it's massacring that works. Gary Brecher, who writes the online column "War Nerd," observes, "The only effective counterinsurgency techniques are torture, reprisal and, ultimately, genocide." Some might say that Brecher is overstating the situation - although the Israelis, of course, after 40 years of failing to pacify Muslims in the West Bank and Gaza, would no doubt agree that half-measures don't do the trick.

As the politics of Iraq continue to shift in Washington, it's likely that one day the Americans will quit Iraq, and the Shia and the Kurds will be unleashed on their foes. Slaughter is not the solution Americans were led to expect in 2003, but it's the solution that's coming, finally."

Murta's speech

Murtha in full
http://www.dccc.org/stakeholder/archives/003914.html

shows us that militarily the occupation cannot be won. US forces did win the war back when the 'mission accomplished' USS Lincoln banner was put up. But today, because of failed intelligence and Republican intransigence in facing facts and changed situations in Iraq "the future of our military is at risk", as Murtha says. The Pentagon knows it, the public knows it, and soon the idiots in the White House will know it.

Redeploy US troops in the Middle East; don't mislabel Murtha's call as a 'withdrawal': Murtha's speech explicitly called for redeployment and NOT withdrawal, the cheap stunt you can expect of misleading Republicans in Congress (taking their cue from the mis-Leader-in-Chief.

"I said over a year ago, and now the military and the Administration agrees, Iraq can not be won "militarily." I said two years ago, the key to progress in Iraq is to Iraqitize, Internationalize and Energize. I believe the same today. But I have concluded that the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq is impeding this progress...

My plan calls:

To immediately redeploy U.S. troops consistent with the safety of U.S. forces.

To create a quick reaction force in the region.

To create an over-the-horizon presence of Marines.

To diplomatically pursue security and stability in Iraq.

...Our military has done everything that has been asked of them, the U.S. can not accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It is time to bring them home."

--from the Murtha speech

Let the Iraqis sort out scores on their own. They'll have themselves to blame, not US forces as a convenient excuse. The rest of the Arab world can then concentrate on creating conditions that will alleviate the humiliation the Arab Human Development Report 2004 says are coming

Lack of reform in Arab states could lead to chaotic social upheaval – UN report
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=13865&Cr=arab&Cr1=development

"Among other points, the report argues institutionalized corruption and pervasive “clannism” reinforce the black hole phenomenon and says Arab countries have failed to meet their own peoples’ aspirations for development, security and liberation."

Without US troops to blame maybe the Arab world will concentrate their efforts constructively, knowing that time and oil revenues for real progress are quickly running out.

US conservatives ! Regain your common sense !

passionate statesman with courage, integrity, a deeply-felt love for the troops AND their families; we owe him a debt we can never repay.

There have been some good speeches by Dems all along. This one got noticed - partly, I think, because Murtha is senior and well respected, but also because the reaction by the Repugs made it news the corporate media would notice.

someone on TV (talking head? cspan caller?) said yesterday that you can bet the generals are behind Murtha. Sort of made sense and if that is true, you've got blow back by the military and Bush is in more trouble than we imagined.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

is beginning (somewhat)--to see this.

I thought now there's someone who sounds like a President.I was extremly moved and impressed by him and knowing his history only made me respect him all the more.
He is a true patriot.A brave and courageous man.We need more like him in our party.

His a good speaker,he's been in public life for over 30 years. But, I believe a large part of the reason he sounds so eloquent is that he is telling you what he actually believes. He is not dressing up his speech in any politically correct qualifiers or any other bullshit.

I think if some more dems would stop worrying about the possible political effects of what they say and would just say what they think, they'd be a lot more successful at winning elections.