Why the Murtha Gambit Will Backfire

On the surface, it seemed like a brilliant political strategy for the Democrats. Send out a decorated war veteran (Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts), a former Marine with an impeccable pro-military record -- the first Vietnam veteran to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, in fact -- to be the point man for the bring-the-troops-home-now assault.

And it seems to have worked brilliantly.

Calling the Iraq war "a flawed policy wrapped in illusion," Democratic Pennsylvania Congressmember John Murtha declared earlier this month that "It is time for a change in direction [in Iraq]. The Iraqi people and the emerging government must be put on notice that the United States will immediately redeploy. All of Iraq must know that Iraq is free. Free from United States occupation. Our military has done everything that has been asked of them, the U.S. can not accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. IT IS TIME TO BRING THEM HOME."

At first, the Bush White House and the Republican leadership reacted as they almost always do when criticized -- they tried to slime the critic, questioning Murtha's patriotism and anything else they could think of. Bush press secretary Scott McClellan called Murtha's position a "surrender to terrorists" and accused him of "endorsing the policy positions of Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic party."

A Republican Congressmember intimated on the floor of the House that Murtha was a coward, and House Speaker Dennis Hastert all but did the same, releasing a statement that read, "Rep. Murtha and Democratic leaders have adopted a policy of cut and run. They want us to wave the white flag of surrender to the terrorists of the world. We must not cower like European nations who are now fighting terrorists on their soil."

But by the weekend, the White House had toned down the attack considerably. From China, President Bush called Mr. Murtha "a good man who served our country with honor and distinction as a Marine in Vietnam and as a United States congressman. And I know the decision to call for immediate withdrawal of our troops by Congressman Murtha was done in a careful and thoughtful way."

The President concluded, a little wistfully, only that, "I disagree with his position."

And House Leader Hastert was also backpedaling on his attack on Murtha. A Hastert spokesperson told the New York Times this week that even though Hastert had used the word "cower" in his statement about Murtha, Hastert "did not use the term directly about Mr. Murtha."

It was a notable retreat for a president and a Republican leadership that doesn't often back off on any issue. Both Murtha's initial statement and the failure of the administration to come after him with guns blazing gave political cover for other Democrats who have been wanting to call for a troop withdrawal, but were afraid of paying a steep political price.

One might conclude that because this turn of events may lead to a shortening of U.S. involvement in Iraq, it is a good thing for progressives and anti-war activists.

But that ain't necessarily so.

The Murtha gambit sets a dangerous precedent for what kind of person can take the lead in criticizing the nation on matters of war and security. It concedes that the only moral voice who can oppose a war is someone who supported and/or participated in a past war. The flaw in the argument is that the Bush Administration and much of the national Republican leadership couldn't care less about distinguished past service; their strategy is to kneecap the opposition, using whatever methods, fair or foul, that come to mind.

Murtha gambit's may end up winning the battle for progressives (a quicker withdrawal from Iraq), but losing the larger war, the one being fought over the hearts and minds of the public about the role of the military in American life and world affairs. And so we may leave Iraq as we left Vietnam -- with too many people in high places convinced we would have won had we only given the military a fighting chance and better strategies. These people will still be willing -- and, perhaps, eager -- to test that theory out in some other part of the world.