Fig Leaf

As I understand it, the plan that Representative Murtha proposes to immeditately begin to withdraw from Iraq and complete it in six months differs from retreat and defeat is that he would redeploy Marines offshore as a strike force to go back in in case things get worse after we leave in order to restore the situation of the ground.

So let me get this straight, we pull out 140,000 US and 20,000 Coalition troops (for they will not stay if we leave) because we cannot stand the price of staying.

Then we redeploy Marines at sea. How many? Murtha doesn't say. But if the situation in Iraq deteriorates without 140,000 US troops, we'd need a lot more than that number to restore the situation.

So we'd need the entire Marine Corps sitting on ships offshore. What? That isn't practical since not every Marine is actually deployable and suitable for counter-insurgency?

Well then, we'll just add Army troops sitting at sea? What's that? We don't have sufficient amphibious lift for more than a dozen battalions even if all amphibious platforms are at sea at once?

Well then, I guess we just have a Marine Expeditionary Unit of a couple thousand troops at sea to pretend we haven't retreated and provide cover to those politicians who'd rather retreat but don't want to admit defeat.

The last time we "redeployed" forces out to sea after a setback didn't work too well for us or the locals or the peace of the region.

Nor did the time before that when we vowed we'd return if needed. And Murtha should remember this one.

I once joked that al Qaeda's plan for victory included the first farcical step of ejecting America from Iraq. Everything else logically follows. I'm not laughing now.

I don't question Murtha's devotion to duty as a Marine in Vietnam. I question whether he has any clue about how to wage war today. Based on his plan's many obvious flaws, what exactly is the basis for the respect Representative Murtha gets as a strategic thinker?

Murtha's plan is no plan for victory--at least not our victory. It is a retreat poorly disguised as an advance to the rear. That so many of his party appear tempted to embrace this flimsy excuse to retreat is truly sad.