They say there is no such thing as an “ex-Marine”, that “once a Marine, always a Marine”. The exception that proves the rule is Lee Harvey Oswald, and even he is sometimes used (darkly) to illustrate one of the finer points of Marine training: marksmanship.
Jack Murtha is a certified Marine Corps Hero in the traditional sense of the word. Unlike a certain recent Presidential Candidate who was a Navy Vet, Jack Murtha did not receive medals without legitimately earning them, even Purple Hearts. He fought in Korea, and in Vietnam. His Vietnam service saw him receive the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.
Accordingly, John Murtha should be due some respect.
John Kerry returned from the Vietnam War with a fistful of medals of questionable integrity, which he promptly threw away to show his disdain for American involvement in Vietnam. While still a U.S. Navy officer on active duty, Kerry went to Paris and involved himself in the peace negotiations there by meeting with the North Vietnamese delegation. Kerry’s actions there, and at home, particularly in his fraudulent testimony against the war in front of Congress, and his involvement in the now discredited Winter Soldier movement, showed him to be a traitor to the United State of America.
No such actions taint the background of John Murtha. For decades, Murtha, even though a Democrat, has supported our actions overseas, and was a solid voice behind the military.
However, in 2005 he suddenly became a strident opponent of the War in Iraq.
We look into his background for a sign that would point to this shift. We can find little. He was an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1980 ABSCAM investigation, but was eventually cleared by the Democratically controlled House Ethics Committee.
Based on his recent announcement that if the Democrats were to gain the seats required for a majority in the fall elections, he would take over leadership in the House, perhaps he has seen a ticking clock and begun maneuvering himself into position for a run at Speaker of the House. In so doing, he would have to become one of the braying liberals that constantly harp at the Bush administration. This he did in 2005. He continues today, though he cleverly limits his public scorn to the War in Iraq since his background is strongly military. Supposedly, this gives him more credibility, especially with the ultra liberal “Gang of Nine” (Kerry, Pelosi, Reid, Feingold, Kennedy, Clinton, Schumer, Biden, and Specter).
Recently, Murtha backed his hand by shouting the news from the rooftops that his own US Marines committed a war atrocity at a place called Haditha in Iraq. Murtha had them tried, convicted and condemned before the news really hit the newsstands. But the MSM (Main Stream Media) could not move fast enough to latch onto the Murtha condemnations.
Murtha was apparently tipped to the Haditha story by Time Magazine which has since backed off on the validity of their source (see Setting the record straight on Haditha by Mary Katherine Ham at Townhall.com). In fact, as more and more is revealed about what happened at Haditha, there is no certainty that a massacre happened at all. Indeed, it may turn out to have been a regrettable tragic, understandable mistake. Perhaps. But the important part is: the investigation is not over, and charges have not been filed!.
But we all know that the MSM does not ascribe to the American principle of law that all are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Apparently Jack Murtha has forgotten that as well. In particular, however, he has also forgotten his loyalty to the Corps.
As a Vietnam veteran, it pains me to see another Vietnam veteran take a wrong turn. Just as it sickened me to watch a young John Kerry in action in the 1970s, it sickens me even more to see a real live U.S. Marine Corps hero lose himself in his own ambition.
In the end, sadly, perhaps Lee Harvey Oswald may have company in his historical niche as an ex-Marine.
What an utter shame.
THE CENTRIST
“Kick the hubris out of Harrisburg!” -- THE CENTRIST
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