Independent John Kline versus John Murtha

I'm well aware that John Kline, like many other Republicans in Congress, were outraged when Pennsylvania Democrat and decorated Vietnam veteran John Murtha called for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq last November. At the time, Kline called Murtha's statement "unconscionable" and said "he should know better".

Recently, I ran across an article from May 2004, immediately after the Abu Ghraib abuses were revealed. In it, Murtha expresses his frustration with the war effort, saying:

"We cannot prevail in our policy today. We either have to mobilize or get out," said Murtha, who called for increasing the force in Iraq to 200,000, perhaps even by reinstating the draft.

"I'm going to support the troops, but I'm going to tell them (the administration) to change course"' added Murtha, a Marine Vietnam veteran.

The suggestion that the U.S. should increase its troop strength in Iraq upset Kline even more. Kline was "furious" with Murtha, "because when that message gets out to our forces they won't feel love and support. They'll feel betrayal."

So publicly calling to leave Iraq is "unconscionable", but suggesting that we send more troops will make our soldiers in Iraq "feel betrayal". In other words, independent John Kline won't tolerate any deviation whatsoever from the administration's conduct of the war.