Feb 09 Don"t speak ill of the dead

Not bashing someone after they have passed away is an unwritten rule in polite society.  But every rule has its exception.  The headline might read Congressman Jack Murtha passes away, but for the soldiers and Marines stationed at Al Asad in 2006, he will forever be known as Traitor Jack. 

There were plenty of reasons to dislike Murtha; political corruption, bribery, unrepentant pork barrel spending, and petty partisan politics among them.  But all of those are things that corrupt politicians do, and corrupt politicians have been around since the first Neanderthals starting making rules for their clan to live by.  In the military, however, Murtha will be forever remembered as the politician who looked at incomplete evidence, went on national television (later to be played around the world) and decided to judge the guilt or innocence of a squad of Marines operating in Haditha, Iraq.

I don't think it is necessary to recount the details, but you can click here or here if you want to read about what the media incorrectly referred to as the Haditha Massacre.  Murtha's actions in condemning the Marines and then in refusing to apologize when he was proven wrong come very close, in my mind, to giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

But even in the category of one of the very few ex-Marines in this country, it would still not be worth being critical of Murtha except for the left's attempt to whitewash Murtha's record and turn him into a saint.  The Huffington Post cast him the leader of the Iraq War opposition, leaving out the fact that Murtha voted to authorize the war.  The Washington Post has a two page article about Murtha's passing that conveniently fails to mention anything about Haditha.  CNN quotes Speaker Pelosi, who has the most insulting line of the day- "he always put the troops and families first".  MSNBC gives lavish attention to his military career and his power in the House, but casts his outburst on Haditha as symbolic of his firm belief that the Iraq War could not be won. 

Jack Murtha never apologized to the Marines he slandered, never took responsibility for the careers he destroyed, and never acknowledged the damage he did to the war effort.  For that matter, he never admitted that he was wrong about the war not being winnable.

Murtha now has to explain his actions to a higher power and be judged accordingly.  I don't mean God-that will come later.  Right now he will have to try to explain himself to the Marines standing guard outside the Pearly Gates.  Good luck.

Comments welcome at Foreign and Domestic