Democratic hawk urges Iraq pullout

By Vicki Allen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Democratic congressional leader on
defense called on Thursday for an immediate withdrawal of U.S.
troops from Iraq, increasing pressure for a change in Bush
administration policy just days after the Senate asked for a
plan to end the war.

“The U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq
militarily. It is time to bring them home,” said Rep. John
Murtha of Pennsylvania, the senior Democrat on the House of
Representatives subcommittee that oversees military spending
and one of his party’s top spokesmen on defense.

Murtha’s remarks followed a string of sharp attacks by
President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney against
critics of the administration’s Iraq war policy and its
handling of intelligence that led to the war.

Murtha, a defense hawk, decorated Vietnam War veteran and
retired Marine colonel, responded with a reference to the draft
deferments that kept Cheney out of Vietnam.

“I like guys who got five deferments and (have) never been
there and send people to war, and then don’t like to hear
suggestions about what needs to be done,” Murtha said.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada accused the
White House of “a weak, spineless display of politics at a time
of war” with its campaign against its Iraq-policy critics.

Murtha, who supported the Iraq war but criticized Bush’s
handling of it, urged the administration to pull out U.S.
troops as soon as it could be done safely. He estimated it
would take about six months.

Republicans fired back quickly against the lawmaker who has
served in Congress since 1974 and been a trusted defense
adviser to presidents of both parties.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, said
Murtha and other Democratic critics “would prefer that the
United States surrender to the terrorists who would harm
innocent Americans.”

Rep. Geoff Davis, a Kentucky Republican, said Democratic
leaders have “cooperated with our enemies and are emboldening
our enemies.”

Murtha said he will introduce a resolution calling for the
return of U.S. forces in Iraq “at the earliest practicable
date.” He called the war “a flawed policy wrapped in illusion.”

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Tuesday said 63
percent of Americans oppose Bush’s handling of the Iraq war,
and 52 percent say troops should be pulled out now or within 12
months.

QUICK WITHDRAWAL

Just a handful of Democrats who opposed the war from the
start have called for a quick withdrawal. Most have urged the
administration to provide a withdrawal plan based on conditions
on the ground.

“The American public is way ahead of the members of
Congress,” Murtha said.

The administration has vehemently opposed any mention of
withdrawal timetables, which it calls a “cut and run” strategy
that would only fuel the insurgency. It is trying to build up
Iraq’s military so that U.S. troops can eventually leave.

But many Republicans were growing anxious about prospects
in Iraq.

“We’ve got what I think is six months for this thing to
begin to shape up … to avoid a civil war,” said Senate Armed
Services Committee Chairman John Warner of Virginia.

The Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly
backed a resolution saying the Iraqis should start taking the
lead in their own security next year to allow a phased U.S.
withdrawal, but it rejected a Democratic resolution demanding
an estimated timetable from Bush.

Murtha argued that U.S. troops have become targets who have
united the insurgency, and that continued deployments are
breaking the military.

There are 153,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, increased from the
usual 138,000 to tighten security for elections in October and
December. Another 22,000 troops from U.S. allies are also
serving in Iraq.

Murtha said a “quick reaction force” should be kept to deal
with emergencies in the region, but not with a possible civil
war in Iraq. Iraq’s stability should be pursued diplomatically,
not militarily, he said.

(additional reporting by Charles Aldinger and Donna Smith)