House spurns calls for immediate Iraq pullout

MSNBC reports on last night's House vote - a politically orchestrated circus.

Republicans hoped to place Democrats in an unappealing position — either supporting a withdrawal that critics said would be precipitous or opposing it and angering voters who want an end to the conflict. They also hoped the vote could restore GOP momentum on an issue — the war — that has seen plummeting public support in recent weeks.
Democrats said it was a sham and quickly decided to vote against the resolution in an attempt to drain it of significance.
“A disgrace,” declared House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “The rankest of politics and the absence of any sense of shame,” added Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House Democrat.

I watched this "show" on C-Span. What a mockery! The repugs should be ashamed. I was sickened by their use of the troops as a political tool. If the public is given the correct information concerning this vote and not just some knee-jerk headlines, the repug tactic will surely backfire on them.

Murtha was also on Hardball.

MATTHEWS: I've only got a minute, Congressman. I've got to ask you one last question. When you say "redeploy beyond the horizon" rather than pull out, does that mean pull our troops back from the cities into camps, into barracks? What does it mean, actually?
MURTHA: No, Chris, what I'm saying is redeploy them outside Iraq. Let the Iraqis take over. Give them the incentive to run their own country — because they're not going to run their own country as long as we're doing it for them.
You notice that every person that was elected to the United States was for lost. And so I'm convinced we need to redeploy outside the country as quickly as practicable and safe for the troops.
MATTHEWS: How is that different than what the Republicans are pushing as this kind of bogus resolution they're pushing today?
MURTHA: It's ridiculous. It's an immediate withdrawal without any kind of a plan at all. All they're trying to do is prove to the American people a political message.
MATTHEWS: Is this some Mickey Mouse trick? How would you describe that resolution?
MURTHA: This is exactly what it is. And it's infuriating to me that after a year of study, after almost 25 years on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, with a really thoughtful resolution, they're not willing to have hearings, they're not willing to think about this or talk.

Let's start listening to House members like Kucinich, Murtha, Jones...Let's get our troops out NOW! With a plan! Bring in the UN! AS Murtha states:

Now I'm convinced, until we turn this over to the Iraqis, we're not going to have the success we need. I'm convinced since we've become the enemy, I'm convinced since the U.S. is doing all the fighting or doing most of the fighting, that we're not going to be successful.
The Iraqis are not going to tell the U.S. people where the insurgents are. There's not a great number of insurgents there. There was no terrorism before we went there. And I'm convinced terrorism will be reduced if we redeploy our forces.
We need a thoughtful suggestion, a thoughtful resolution, which concludes this war as quickly as possible.