Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa) responded to Bush’s speech this morning. His remarks were aired live on MSNBC and CNN, but not on C-Span.
Crooks and Liars has the video up now. (Best I can tell, C-Span doesn’t have the video yet.)
As you know, Bush emphasized Iraq’s economic progress in today’s speech (NYT). From the White House’s home page:
President Bush on Wednesday said, “…We’re helping the new Iraq government reverse decades of economic destruction, reinvigorate its economy, and make responsible reforms. We’re helping Iraqis to rebuild their infrastructure and establish the institutions of a market economy. The entrepreneurial spirit is strong in Iraq. Our policies are aimed at unleashing the creativity of the Iraqi people.” (Read all of Bush’s speech.)
The Washington Post has put up the complete transcript of Rep. Murtha’s remarks following Bush’s speech. And AP/Yahoo has a new story — “Rep. Murtha: Iraq Operations Plagued By Poor Planning” — that describes Murtha’s press conference and charts.
Kos has pointed to a particularly key part of Murtha’s press conference:
Murtha: Another $100 billion for Iraq War
by kos
Wed Dec 07, 2005 at 01:09:40 PM PDT
Well, a war the neocons thought could be waged on the dime has already cost us $270 billion. And Murtha says that it’s about to cost a heck of a lot more: … (Read all.)
Below the fold, I’ve reprinted this section of the press conference to which Kos refers. It’s not pretty. (And, may I add that we’re destroying this country with this monster debt?)
Rep. Murtha Holds a News Conference to Respond to President Bush’s Speech
DECEMBER 7, 2005
MURTHA: Let me start by going through a timeline and then get to what the president said.In May 1, 2003, the president declared it was a major — end of major operations. Then he sent John Hamre to Iraq. John Hamre was undersecretary of defense in the Clinton administration. And he found all kinds of problems. He said: You got three months, three critical months to get this thing under control if you want to control the security; 12 months at the most, but three months are crucial, the first three months.
He said small things like sewage and water and things that a lot of people don’t pay attention to — I pay attention, because in my district that’s important. But a lot of people paid no attention to that report. …
[…..]
I said on the floor that I felt the most important part of that supplemental was the construction money. A lot of people voted against it because they didn’t think we should be spending money in Iraq for construction when Wolfowitz, Assistant Secretary Wolfowitz, had said: It’s going to be paid for by oil money.
So a lot of people opposed it on the floor, but it passed handily.
Then I went back to Iraq and I told Ambassador Bremer, General Sanchez and General Odierno and the young general that was their public relations guy, “You guys are way too optimistic about this.”
MURTHA: “You’re not being honest with the American people.”
They took umbrage. I got some nasty letters, as I usually do when I say something like this. …. More.
Look at this section:
Now I said to the secretary of defense: You have got a shortage of people in specialty, MOS specialties, that’s a military specialist. We had truck drivers who couldn’t back up a truck. [WTF?!] We had security guards who weren’t trained in security at all. We had National Guard security people without radios — couldn’t talk to the front, the back of the convoy, endangering their lives.
We got radios over there and we tried to address this very problem. And we had a press conference. Nancy Pelosi and I did. We said, “the military’s overstretched and there’s poor planning.” And I said at that time I did not think we could win this militarily.
I got a lot of criticism. DeLay got up on the floor and said I was a traitor. What I said to him, publicly, I won’t tell you. …
Expanded section of what Kos quoted:
MURTHA: Let me tell you, there’s only two plans. One plan is the president’s plan. And that’s stay the course and hope. And there’s a plan that I’m proposing which calls for immediate redeployment.
QUESTION: But why can’t Democrats seem to coalesce around…
MURTHA: We’re not in charge. They’re in charge. Listen, the first time I asked anybody to sign on was this morning. I felt this was my personal proposal. And so I would hope that they would see, after they look at this thing, that this is the right direction to go.
And I think you’ll see a lot more on it.
QUESTION: Can we come back to the $100 million? You said that you expect the military to ask for $100 million (OFF-MIKE). Where are you getting that figure?
MURTHA: Where I get all my figures: the military.
Let me tell you — they didn’t ask for this $50 billion. We put it in. We talked to them about where it ought to be.
When I visited the three bases that I talk about, which were down south, I came back and I said to the military: Go to Iraq and tell me what shortage you have there.
They sent the Marine Corps over, the highest level people in the Army over, they came back with — what was it, $8 billion?
STAFF: Yes, sir.
MURTHA: $8 billion in requests for equipment they need today. Our equipment is absolutely run out. We’re running our Bradleys a thousand miles a month, where it used to be a thousand miles a year. So there’s substantial rehabilitation that has to be done.
They didn’t ask for the 30,000 troops, as you know. We authorized it. They couldn’t meet that quota. They couldn’t meet — they’re 10,000 short of the extra people, 6,000 of what we have. National Guard and Reserve are between 80 percent and 84 percent of their goal in recruiting.
We are stretched thin. Some of these folks have been deployed three and four and five times. And it’s unfair that such a small proportion — you know, a lot of people say they support the war, but don’t send my child.
I was for the draft. I said we ought to have more troops there early on. And I was for the draft. Do you know how many people voted for the draft? Two.
So when I go to a college campus and they say to me: Is there going to be a draft? I say, “Well, I’m for a draft, but it’s not likely.” …
(Read all of Murtha’s press conference.)
