Murtha Says He Has ‘Lost A Lot Of Confidence’ In Military Leaders, Including Petraeus

Murtha Says He Has ‘Lost A Lot Of Confidence’ In Military Leaders, Including Petraeus

On ABC’s This Week today, host George Stephanopoulos asked Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) about whether Congress would “move again to get a timetable for withdrawal in September if the benchmarks aren’t met, even if General Petraeus…comes to Congress in September and says he needs more time.” “He has an awful lot of credibility,” he added.

Murtha quickly disputed Stephanopoulos’s premise. “George, let me tell you, I’ve lost a lot of confidence in many of the military leaders. Because they say what the White house wants them to say,” said Murtha. Asked if he included Petraeus in his lack of confidence, Murtha added, “I’m waiting to see what he has to say. But I am absolutely convinced there has been this overly optimistic picture of what’s going on in Iraq, while the figures show the opposite.” Watch it:

Unfortunately, Murtha is right. Petraeus, and other military officers, have a history of supporting the administration line, despite the facts on the ground.

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Talabani Says Iraqi Troops Will Be Ready ‘Next Year,’ After Making Same Promise Two Years Ago

Since 2005, President Bush has argued that the U.S. strategy in Iraq is: “As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.” This morning on ABC’s This Week, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani promised that Iraqi troops will be able to defend their country by the “end of the next year.” Watch it:

But as TalkLeft points out, Talabani’s timeline is unlikely. On April 11, 2005, Talabani also promised that Iraqi forces would be able to defend their country “within two years“:


Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also promised in Nov. 2006 that his “country’s forces would be able to assume security command by June 2007 — which could allow the United States to start withdrawing its troops.”

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