November 23, 2005

A little perspective on Iraq

By U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn
Y'all -- As you all know, we held a debate on a resolution last week that would have called for an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Thankfully the rhetoric gave way to reason and we had a nearly unanimous vote against that idea, but it's still getting attention in the press. I want to send a message to the military men and women and their families -- we are grateful and we are behind this mission 100%.

One thing I also want to clear up regarding that resolution is this media-encouraged idea that we were somehow debating Rep. Murtha. This had nothing to do with him, it had everything to do with this policy suggestion.

Some food for thought. Below is a timeline comparison between our own nation and Iraq just to give us all some perspective.

America
July 4, 1776: Our revolutionary forefathers declared their independence from Great Britain

4090 days later: A group of homogenous, Christian, white, land owning men completed work on a Constitution to unite the disparate colonies into one federal government on September 17, 1787, a Constitution neglecting to extend certain rights to large portions of the nation's population.

278 Days later: New Hampshire ratified the Constitution certifying enough support to become the law of the land on June 21, 1788

200 Days Later: The first nationwide election under the newly ratified Constitution took place under peaceful conditions throughout the former colonies. Voters, with no fear of retribution or assassination, elected a new democratic government.

Compared to Iraq:
June 28, 2004: Coalition forces return sovereignty of Iraq to a United Nations backed interim government of Sunni, Shia, Kurd, Christian, Muslim, men and women

217 Days Later: Iraq holds its first democratic elections in generations, under threat of murder by terrorists, millions of men AND women turn out to vote on January 30, 2005 to elect a new government to draft a constitution.

258 Days Later: Iraqis turn out in event greater numbers to ratify their new constitution, drafted by Muslims and Christians, men and women, on October 15, 2005, a constitution respectful of religious freedoms and women's rights setting the stage for the country's third election in one year, this time to elect a permanent government.

61 Days Later: a free, constitutionally backed democratic government of Sunni, Shia, Kurd, Muslim, Christian, men and women, will be sworn in as the permanent elected government as Iraq completes its third successful election in less than one year.

In any event, I did want to include this following article to show that most people don't believe we went into Iraq to leave without victory. A victory that is NOT some far away dream, but a real possibility that we see every day -- if you look beyond the headlines and national media coverage. God Bless, Marsha

ON THE HOME FRONT
Murtha removes unfavorable troop poll
Online voters overwhelmingly opposed his call for withdrawalPosted: November 22, 2005
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

The congressman at the center of the battle last week over withdrawal of troops from Iraq removed the results from his own Internet poll on the subject after online voters overwhelmingly opposed his stance.

Rep. Jack Murtha, D-Pa., posted the poll after he ignited a firestorm in the House that led to Republicans forcing a quick vote on the issue Friday.

While a revised poll page remains on the site, the link to it from his homepage has been removed, making the survey effectively invisible to the public.

A contributor to Web forum Free Republic.com, however, posted results as of 3:34 p.m. Eastern time.

The call for immediate withdrawal garnered just 12 percent of the more than 12,000 votes.

Please indicate which of the following best summarizes your view on what the United States should do in Iraq:
A. We should immediately remove all troops. 1,562 votes, 12.3 percent

B. We should redeploy to the periphery of Iraq as soon as practical to protect troop safety and give the Iraqis incentive to take charge sooner, not later. 3,239 votes, 25.6 percent

C. We should maintain current troop levels until Iraq builds an army to defend and stabilize their country, even if that takes years. 6,726 votes, 53.1 percent

D. We should re-institute the national draft to increase troop levels to where we can seal the Iraqi borders and stop the passage of insurgents and insurgent-supply missions. 1,146 votes, 9 percent

E. None of the above. 3 votes, 0.0 percent

WND screen capture of Iraq war poll on website of Rep. Jack Murtha

Following three hours of intense debate Friday, the House voted 403-3 to reject a non-binding resolution to immediately withdraw troops from Iraq.

Responding to Murtha, House Republicans scheduled the quick vote to settle the issue and put lawmakers on the record.

The Republican alternative by Rep. Duncan Hunter of California read: "It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately."

Democrats accused Republicans of changing the meaning of Murtha's proposal. The Democrat hawk has said a smooth withdrawal would take six months.

At his press conference Thursday, however, Murtha stated: "I believe before the Iraqi elections, scheduled for mid-December, the Iraqi people and the emerging government must be put on notice: The United States will immediately redeploy – immediately redeploy."

Democratic New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton apparently interpreted Murtha's stance as a call for immediate withdrawal, saying such a move would be a "big mistake."