Withdrawal from Reality

The top U.S. commander in Iraq has submitted a plan to the Pentagon for withdrawing troops in Iraq, yet the call by Democratic Congressman John Murtha for troop withdrawal prompted a firestorm of attacks from Republicans, who called the decorated Vietnam veteran a "coward" and compared him to leftist filmmaker Michael Moore. Murtha called the war "a flawed policy wrapped in illusion." He recalled the situation in Vietnam when White House officials said major military tasks would be over by the end of 1965. Instead, there were 2,263 American fatalities by the end of 1965, and more than 55,000 after that date. "I'm trying to prevent another Vietnam," Murtha said.