http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/18/MNG10FQFMV1.DTL&hw=pelosi&sn=004&sc=525 Murtha's speech leaves Democrats divided in Congress. Only a minority have called for immediate withdrawal; others, such as the party's 2004 presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, want a phased pullout and warn against leaving chaos behind in Iraq.
As far as Pelosi is concerned, this would directly contridict her previous stands... because she has always failed to support any timetable set by Congress for withdraw of troops.
Pelosi, who voted against the war and has since criticized Bush's Iraq policy, declined to follow Murtha's lead and call for withdrawal Thursday.
"This is his day,'' she told reporters, apparently happy to have a member from a working-class Pennsylvania district take the lead on an issue more closely associated with Bay Area liberals. "I will take it under consideration. ... My views are well known. I've said from the start the war was a grotesque mistake.''
The "grotesque mistake" is a nice line, but it does not put Congress in position of removing the troops or even asking for that. For Pelosi, she has left that to Bush, she has repeatedly called on him to present an exit plan.
In Contrast, Murtha has himself created an exit plan. Will other Democrats support him? If they support the bill Murtha has put forth, there will be immediate redeployment (I believe this would mean troops would no longer go on offensive campaigns, such as the infamous Fallajah campaign, or the more recent ones where many civilians have been killed). The position Murtha has taken is very different than a plan to phase withdraw over a years time. It is more than a 6 month difference, because there is no dependency on what the Iraqis do. Under Kerry’s plan, will US troops leave even if the US-installed government is unable to stand? Do we want US troops to remain to defend that government?
Murtha’s call is the kind of leadership, and break from “stay the course” line that we need. Phased withdrawal, based on preconditions (unlikely to be met), will mean thousands of Iraqis killed by US troops, it will mean many more casualties for the US troops themselves. Murtha has been visiting the wounded troops, and listening to their woes. He knows what this means.
Let us hope Pelosi, after she “considers” it, that she finally takes action to support unequivocally Murtha’s statement. Let’s hope Kerry does the same. I have seen no statement from them saying such yet. This could mean the end of the war. This is the right thing to do. This could also raise people’s respect for the Democratic party, who, they see, have lacked a real plan for themselves.