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“George Bush’s War”
An Open Letter to Congressman John Murtha
[NOTE: The article below was originally published April 4, 2006 in
the Philadelphia Daily News. We have received the author's permission
to reprint it on BootMurtha.com.]
I saw you on TV this week. With all the venom and bile you could
muster, you pronounced “This is George Bush’s war.”
I understand fully what you were saying. You were telling the country
and -- more importantly -- our enemies, that this is not your
war, that you do not support it. More than that, you were
saying that it is not your party’s war. And, you were telling Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden and their jihadist allies that it is
not America’s war: “This is George Bush’s war!”
You are wrong, Congressman. Dead wrong. You are wrong on at least
three levels: institutional, historical and moral.
On the institutional level, Congress voted to authorize this war.
Virtually every prominent Democratic politician spoke in favor of its
objectives, Hillary and Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Madeline Albright,
and Joe Lieberman, to name just a few. Many now conveniently ignore
or seek to rationalize their vote. A few courageously stand by it.
But, it is not Congress’ war either. When Congress voted to authorize
the war and the Commander-in-Chief gave the order to initiate it, it
became our war. Ours: yours, mine, the country’s.
Our war, sir, not George Bush’s.
You are wrong, too, about history -- past and future. You were
referring, of course to the Iraq “war.” However, history tells us
that this is one battle in a larger war against radical, fascist
Islamic fundamentalists who seek to conquer. Do you know your
history, sir? Do you listen to what our enemies say? Listen, they
will tell you: they seek to restore Islamic rule and Sharia law over
that portion of the world that they regard as historically “theirs.”
They mean not only the Mid-East, but northern Africa, Central Asia,
and even Spain. Yes, Spain, what we think of as European Spain.
Then, they seek to expand that rule by imposing the same regime on any
country where there is a significant Muslim population, anytime. They
mean Europe, Nigeria -- keep your eye on Nigeria, Congressman, it is
already happening in that most populous country of Africa -- and, yes,
the U.S. Do you deny any of these things? On what basis, sir?
They rightfully identify the U.S. as the sole power capable of
standing in their way, of marshalling opposition to them. Calling
this battle “George Bush’s war” will not blunt their strategy. No, it
supports it.
Have you forgotten the other Islamic fascists’ battles against us,
indeed against the world? Do you remember the airplane hijackings,
the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon, the U.S.S. Cole, the
bombing of a barracks at a U.S. airbase in Spain, bombings of the U.S.
embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the World Trade Center in 1993, in
2001? They all are part of this war that George Bush did not start.
Yet, they are not even the beginning of this war, Congressman. This
war has been going on for centuries and it is not going to end if we
retreat now as you advocate.
Finally, you are wrong on the moral level. Let me explain, lest you
think that you have a monopoly on morality. My son is now preparing
for his second combat deployment in this battle. He will tell you
that it is his war. During his first combat tour, my son wrote
to me, saying, “I truly see this as a battle between the forces of
good and evil. How can anyone not? Good brings hope to a whole
people that have never known any and evil cuts the heads off innocent
civilians on tv.” That sort of sums up the morality that our soldiers
see. He and his comrades would like to think that they are not
fighting this alone, that this is not just their and George Bush’s
war. They would like to think that they fight for this country,
including you, Congressman. It is their war, it is my war, and it is
this country’s war.
My son’s life, and the lives of all the men and women fighting this
battle are too precious to be endangered by politicians who give aid
and comfort to our enemy in order to score rhetorical political
points. If you will not desist, I can only hope that responsible
members of your party will repudiate your dangerous rhetoric and
condemn your assistance to our enemies.
Yours sincerely,
John A. Lucas [bio]
Knoxville, Tennessee
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