Murtha criticizes Bush Administration on five years of Iraq war

Congressman John P. Murtha (D-PA), chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, discussed the five years of violence in Iraq after President Bush declared “Mission Accomplished” in 2003, in a discussion at the Center for American Progress today.

Murtha talked about the wars in Vietnam, Lebanon, Beirut and Somalia and compared them to the current situation in Iraq. Similar to the military actions taken in those countries, in Iraq the U.S. went in without an exact strategy, the mission remained undefined and the U.S. military ended up becoming nation builders without a clear exit strategy.

“We learned throughout the last century that political, economic and diplomatic challenges are equally, if not more, important to achieving stability on the ground,” Murtha said. “And as we’ve learned over the past five years, we must ultimately win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.”

Iraq is facing crippling problems today with a government “riddled with corruption and paralyzed by incompetence,” sectarian violence, Iraqi refugees, ethnic zones and unemployment at 50 percent in certain areas, said Murtha. The United States is dealing with oil production remaining at pre-war lows, thousands of military deaths and poor military readiness levels.

Murtha concluded his remarks by urging the Bush Administration to look to the future at threats down the road the U.S.’s “faltering economy, skyrocketing energy prices, rising food costs and a significantly weakened dollar.”