Murtha On O’Hanlon/Pollack Propaganda: ‘I Dismiss It As Rhetoric’
Filed Under: Iraq
By on Jul 31st, 2007 at 11:37 am
Murtha On O’Hanlon/Pollack Propaganda: ‘I Dismiss It As Rhetoric’
On CNN’s American Morning, Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) ripped Michael O’Hanlon and Ken Pollack’s pro-escalation propaganda. “I dismiss it as rhetoric,” he said.
Murtha continued, “In my estimation, the things I measure — oil production, electricity production, water — only 2 hours of electricity! I don’t know where they were staying, I don’t know what they saw.”
“It’s not getting better. It’s rhetorical, is what’s getting better,” Murtha said. “It’s an illusion.” Watch it:
“They were there for seven days,” Murtha said. In order to sustain the escalation, troops would see their tours extended from 15 months to 18 months, he added.
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60 Responses to “Murtha On O’Hanlon/Pollack Propaganda: ‘I Dismiss It As Rhetoric’”
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I can walk around in the South Bronx for one week at 2 AM with squad cars around me and it really looks great there. No trouble at all……..
July 31st, 2007 at 11:41 am“It’s not getting better. It’s rhetorical, which is getting better,†Murtha said. “It’s an illusion.â€
Gotta love this old boy. He’s a true patriot, and lord knows we need him.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:44 amI wish Murtha would have challenged Roberts’s ridiculous “fierce critics” tag.
It would have been as simple as pointing out that Pollack wrote a book subtitled “the case for war in Iraq” and that both of them supported the surge in January 2007.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:45 amThe only way for the Left to succeed is for America to fail.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:49 amSeven days in a hotel lobby,and come back and publish a big article with big claims. Did these guys talk to the average Iraqi. The people in the street.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:50 amThey can’t because it is not safe for even Iraqi politicians,and people to walk in the street.
Remember Lieberman,MCcain and others were escorted by tanks,soldiers and helicopters to be able to walk in a street and see a market palce in Baghdad;but of course, Pollack & buddy seem to find a way to cover it all,and write all of this in seven days!!
Zup Zooey!! Geez, I feel like I’ve been slacking in giving my opinion that noone wants lately…
:D
July 31st, 2007 at 11:53 am#2: Yes he is unlike this guy . Man, I can’t stand Duncan Hunter.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:53 amWhen will the reich 28% get this is not a left or reich thing…Our people and their people are dieing for a lie to gain control of a countries oil…..When will they learn, when will the last person die for bush lie’s…Blessings
July 31st, 2007 at 11:54 amThe only way for the Left to succeed is for America to fail and the Right has been seeing to it that America becomes a failed experiment in democracy and moral leadership around the world.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:54 amIt must be rough for the neocons…trying to use George Orwell’s 1984 as a blueprint, only to find that it’s not as easy to manipulate reality in real life. The darned “reality-based community” keeps calling them on their inventions, distortions, and omissions.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:56 amThe only way for the Left to succeed is for America to fail.
Comment by Ringo — July 31, 2007 @ 11:49 am
This non-sequitor makes another fine example of complete capitulation by a troll. The Bush worshippers aren’t even shooting blanks anymore. They are shooting nothing but tiny puffs of air. But keep up that authoritarian man-love thing you have for Commander Codpiece.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:56 amI see that PiPPy is namejacking yet again. Such a high ethical standard.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:57 am#6 Pitbull,
You did not give us a reasonable reason why you want Congressman Murtha to have a hear attack and die.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:58 amYou seem not like his looks also…
Does his weight have anything to do with the topic discussed her…give us any reason,other than the typical response, he is a liberal..bla bla bla..
You did not prove to us that he is abastard also…!!
How long till Murtha has a heart attack?
July 31st, 2007 at 11:59 amI hope Murtha gets a heart attack.
That fat overweight bastard!
Comment by Pitbull — July 31, 2007 @ 11:51 am
Typical avoidance of the subject matter, and straighton to the personal attacks based on the superficial characteristic of weight.
Does “thinking” hard enough to make a coherent statement about the topic, make your head hurt?
July 31st, 2007 at 11:59 amCalling out NeoColonics for the fantasy based dissemblers they are, keep it up Rep Murtha!
July 31st, 2007 at 11:59 amIf O’Hanlon and Pollack think things are so peachy, why didn’t they stay, strap on a helmet and body armor and go fight with our troops? They are chickenhearted chickenhawks.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:01 pmBush Regime wants the OIL of Iraq, but their whole scheme is collapsing upon them.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:02 pmI dismiss Murtha as a rhetorical windbag.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:04 pmThe only way for the right to succeed is if the constitution is destroyed.
Give’em hell Murtha.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:04 pm2 hours of electricity???
HAH! Sure, for the Iraqi’s. the green zone is running 24 hours a day on huge, trailer-sized generators. 2 hours, indeed!
And even if they ARE getting 2 hours of electricity/day…that’s like a 100% increase from the estimate presented on TP yesterday. That means the surge is working! It’s a POWER surge, see?
There, that oughta take care of my NeoCon quota for the day.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:04 pmMurtha’s statements were rhetorical as well, however I don’t feel either perspective should be “dismissed.”
July 31st, 2007 at 12:05 pmSarge, gotta wonder how long it’ll take the Mortar brigades to zero in on trailer size targets??
July 31st, 2007 at 12:05 pmThis blog really should be called Thinkfailure.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:06 pmSarge, gotta wonder how long it’ll take the Mortar brigades to zero in on trailer size targets??
Comment by RUCerious
They don’t bother to ‘zero in’, they just lob those suckers in there and hope they hit something. They’ll get ‘lucky’ at some point. Law of averages and all.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:07 pmIf O’Hanlon and Pollack think things are so peachy, why didn’t they stay, strap on a helmet and body armor and go fight with our troops? They are chickenhearted chickenhawks.
Comment by Jack
——————————————————————————————–
That is so lame.
You sound like 14 year old school girl.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:07 pmJack Murtha saw more combat than Pollak, et al, have lived a lifetime.
Why do Trolls hate our Veterans?
July 31st, 2007 at 12:07 pmToo many trolls!
I’ll be back later.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:08 pm“This blog really should be called Thinkfailure.”
-no needs to Think failure when you can sit back and watch the right BE a Failure-
July 31st, 2007 at 12:09 pmThe more trolls the better!!! I like feeling superior
July 31st, 2007 at 12:12 pmJack Murtha is right.
If you have to send in MORE troops to reduce the violence, then its NOT PROGRESS.
When it takes LESS troops to quiet the violence, THEN you can call it progress.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:14 pmTwo reichwing candyasses say everything is OK in Iraq. Thuper job guyz.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:15 pmOT: DIDN’T THE WHITE HOUSE HAVE TIL NOON TO UPDATE AND ‘SPLain just what the heck fredo was talking bout?
July 31st, 2007 at 12:15 pmI will keep repeating!
July 31st, 2007 at 12:16 pmIt works in all Communist regimes!
I am a great leader!
Follow me!
We continue to “debate” the Iraq situation as if there is something to debate.
The Iraq situation was hatched and managed by Bushco (Slogan: Incompetence is Our Forte.) and, as such, is inherently and disasterously flawed.
There is nothing to be “won” in Iraq. The conclusion is failure, because the premise was false. We all already know this, because it is obvious. Some will continue to blow hot air and call for a “victory”, but this will not alter the reality of the situation. It is what it is, and you can’t argue it away.
Yet, we continue to debate.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:17 pmAnd I hope the FBI pays you a visit for your comment..dumbshit.
Comment by Hrr — July 31, 2007 @ 12:15 pm
The comment you are commenting on has been deleted.
Why does TP hate hate?
July 31st, 2007 at 12:18 pmtwo “fierce” critics of bush?!
July 31st, 2007 at 12:19 pmMarcus,
July 31st, 2007 at 12:19 pmThere is no debate.
Our great Revolutionary Chairman Bartlebee has spoken!
I’m not debating Marcus (”hail caesar!”).
I’m just stating fact. Facts that apparently got the trolls worked up enough to start impersonating me and trying to bait me.
But the fact is you can’t call it progress if you have to send in reinforcements just to try and keep a lid on things.
When you can do it with LESS troops, THEN its progress.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:21 pmCertain comments that I have posted to do not appear to have gone through, however I have not violated the Terms of Use conditions.
Puzzling…
July 31st, 2007 at 12:21 pmYes - there isn’t.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:22 pmRevolutionary Chairman BARTLEBEE,
July 31st, 2007 at 12:26 pmI am your loyal follower.
I await your words of wisdom.
What do you propoese to do about the Executive Order and these 2 Counter Revolutionary Reactionists?
I await your words of wisdom great leader!
Why isn’t the TP moderator smart enough to figure out when the banned trolls have returned?
Maybe they have to care first…
July 31st, 2007 at 12:37 pmPage 15 of the Brookings institute report on Iraq shows the political benchmarks agreed upon the Bush administration and the Iraqi govt. There are 8 benchmarks on that page. Only addressing Sunni concerns, schedule provincial elections and getting the Sunnis to be more involved in the govt. has made progress.
-Oil revenue sharing is still going nowhere.
-Reversing de-Baathification (an actual benchmark) is a joke. The commitee involved with this hasn’t even seen any documentation on this. When were these benchmarks set?
-New election laws. None.
- Disbanding militias. guess. If you answered none you are correct.
- Plan of National reconciliation. same answer as above.
So politically, there isn’t sufficient progress. There isn’t any reference to what steps will be taken to push these benchmarks.
Anbar province has seen a drop in violent attacks from 25 to 4 a dy since the surge.
Diyala province has seen an increase of 30% in violence attacks since the surge.
Estimated strenght of insurgency nationwide (page 26) shows 5,000 at the end of 2003. March 2007 70,000 (Sunni only). It doesn’t show AQ, shiite or other.
Number of foreign fighters have stayed between 800 to 2,000 since April of last year. Very few in numbers but a note below states these foreign fighters make up close to 100% of the suicide bombers.
Number of attacks a day have risen from 61.8 Feb-June 05 to 159.8 Feb to May 07.
The list goes on and on. The posturing of these “journalists” on the MSM is for their own glory.
The numbers show how this conflict has been blundered militarily and politically.
Sad sobering reading this report is. I suggest anyone wanting to thump their chests and shout down any dissenters of the conflict read the report before engaging in a “debate”.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:39 pmAt least these two guys went to Iraq and got some relevant data before they said what they did. So unlike Murtha who condemned the Haditha Marines based on nothing more than hearsay and before a trial had even been initiated.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:42 pmComment by hellinabucket — July 31, 2007 @ 12:39 pm
Thanks, bucket. Well put.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:42 pm#46 Comment by LibTeenie — July 31, 2007 @ 12:42 pm
At least these two guys went to Iraq and got some relevant data before they said what they did.
When you go to Iraq with preformed ideas, and with the express purpose of using your trip to confirm your preformed ideas, you don’t get “relevant data” except that data that supports your position.
It is a fact that these two guys are pro war supporters and have been vocal supporters from 2003.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:57 pmThe Haditha situation was horrific. If US Marines didn’t do it, who did?
July 31st, 2007 at 12:58 pmDoes anyone have the military service record handy of these two pro war supporters?
July 31st, 2007 at 12:58 pmDoes anyone have the military service record handy of these two pro war supporters?
Comment by Merlin
Sure, Here you go…..I’ve included it as an attachment.
What do you mean, ‘nothing there’??
July 31st, 2007 at 1:02 pm#51 Comment by SGT Higgins — July 31, 2007 @ 1:02 pm
What do you mean, ‘nothing there’??
LOL! You stole my line.
Now, they aren’t chickenhawks, are they?? Not these two Middle East Experts!
Michael O’Hanlon and Ken Pollack, chickenhawks! Go figure!
July 31st, 2007 at 1:22 pmMullen (a military commander) just destroyed the entire premise of O’Hanlon and Pollack. And I’m sure the pro-military wingnuts will stand behind this seasoned military expert - over the words of a couple of liberal reporters - right?
Or we get to see more anti-military rhetoric from the wingnut hypocrites? Tell me SGT Higgins? How much do you hate the military? And Mullen?
July 31st, 2007 at 1:25 pmSince Sgt Higgins is IN the military, I’d say he supports it more than you Mr NeoNut.
July 31st, 2007 at 1:29 pmComment by MrNeoNut — July 31, 2007 @ 1:25 pm
Mullen (a military commander) just destroyed the entire premise of O’Hanlon and Pollack. And I’m sure the pro-military wingnuts will stand behind this seasoned military expert - over the words of a couple of liberal reporters - right?
Or we get to see more anti-military rhetoric from the wingnut hypocrites? Tell me SGT Higgins? How much do you hate the military? And Mullen?
You better rewrite this post and resubmit it. You make no sense at all:
Mullen (a military commander) just destroyed the entire premise???
Liberal reporters???
Wierd
July 31st, 2007 at 1:49 pmI dismiss anything that disagrees with my myopic view of the world.
July 31st, 2007 at 1:59 pmO’Hanlon/Pollack didn’t sell out - they were already owned by BushCo, lock, stock, and barrel.
July 31st, 2007 at 2:08 pmI don’t know where they were staying, I don’t know what they saw.â€
I don’t know and I don’t care to know. We’re losing, damnit. I’ve staken my reputation on it.
July 31st, 2007 at 2:14 pmDuring his Senate confirmation hearing today, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs nominee Navy Adm. Michael Mullen argued that without political and economic progress, “no amount of troops and no amount of time will make much of a difference†in the war in Iraq. “[P]rudence dictates that we plan for an eventual drawdown and the transition of responsibilities to Iraqi security forces,†he said. In questioning later, he conceded, “there does not appear to be much political progress†in Iraq.
* * *
Hm. Gosh, he must be one of those surrender monkey liberals.
July 31st, 2007 at 3:10 pmMurtha is right what what O’Hanlon and Pollack have said is in fact war or surge propaganda. What they have said is untrue and doesn’t not represent the reality on the ground in Iraq. The fact is that the surge has failed. We are losing more than a hundred soldiers a month in Iraq. More soldiers are dying of IED attacks. Iraqis continue to die. No political progress has been made.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:32 pmIf O’Hanlon and Pollack think things are so peachy, why didn’t they stay, strap on a helmet and body armor and go fight with our troops? They are chickenhearted chickenhawks.
August 2nd, 2007 at 1:22 am