Carter insults Murtha

Recently, U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, took a cheap shot at one of his Democratic colleagues, U.S. Rep. John Murtha. Murtha, who was the first Vietnam veteran elected to Congress, had broken ranks with the Bush administration on the Iraq war.
Murtha called "for immediate redeployment of U.S. troops, consistent with the safety of U.S. forces, to create a quick-reaction force in the region, to create an over-the-horizon presence of Marines, and to diplomatically pursue security and stability in Iraq."
The White House accused Murtha of wanting to "surrender to the terrorists." Carter joined a hastily gathered gaggle of Republican representatives to accuse the recipient of two Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star and the Vietnamese Cross for Gallantry of wanting "to take the cowardly way out."
On Carter's Web site, he claims to have raised his family on "Christian beliefs and strong Texas values." How is that consistent with accusing a decorated veteran of cowardice?

ALFRED STANLEY
astanley@astanley.com Austin

On the other hand is this letter:
I am not a traitor
In several recent speeches out West, President Bush hit hard again on the theme that those who disagree with his running of the Iraq war are somehow unAmerican and/or unpatriotic. My own story is a good illustration. I'm a retired U.S. Air Force combat pilot who flew 70 P-47 fighter-bomber missions in Europe in l944 and 1945, l00 P-51 missions in Korea in l95l and 35 Thunderjet F-84 missions in Korea in l95l and 1952 — voluntarily — and earned the Purple Heart. I thought that patriotism and Americanism somehow figured in there. But I asked simple questions about Bush's motives: How can a two-bit nation in the sand pose any threat to the mightiest nation the world has ever known? Is this war necessary? Are we really in danger?
According to at least one of writer of right-wing books, raising that question makes me a traitor. I am not a traitor, nor am I unAmerican or unpatriotic. The same Texas Air Guard wing that gave me the chance to fight for my country in Korea protected Bush from combat in Vietnam. Count me as standing beside U.S. Rep. John Murtha and the tens of millions around the world, let alone here at home, who raise similar questions.
FRANK LEWIS
Lt. Col. U.S. Air Force (ret.)
Austin


Coward?
Dana Milbank writes on the latest Yellow Elephant Stampede in the Star Tribune:In his 37 years in the military, John Murtha won two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star with a Combat "V" and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.
As a Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania for the past 31 years, he has been a fierce hawk, championing conflicts in Central America and the Persian Gulf.
On Thursday, he was called a coward.After Murtha stunned the Capitol with a news conference calling for a pullout from Iraq because our "troops have done all they can," the denunciations came quickly and furiously.House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., accused Murtha of delivering "the highest insult" to the troops.
"We must not cower," Hastert told the former Marine.
Majority Leader Roy Blunt, R-Mo., told Murtha that his views "only embolden our enemies" and lamented that "Democrats undermine our troops in Iraq from the security of their Washington, D.C., offices."Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., told the 73-year-old Murtha that "the American people are made of sterner stuff." And Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, said the likes of Murtha want to take "the cowardly way out." Murtha, whose brand of hawkishness has never been qualified by the word "chicken," was expecting the attacks: "I like guys who've never been there that criticize us who've been there. I like that."Carter, Hastert, Blunt and Hayworth have no military service record.Imagine that. Four Republican congressmen in favour of the war who never served themselves. What are the odds?