UPDATE 2: Another Haditha Marine has charges dropped today!
UPDATE: Murtha was confronted again today and again refused to apologize!
**HotAir has the amazing video!!**
Good for Jason Mattera for posing the question.
Murtha Refuses to Apologize to Innocent Haditha Marines!
Rep. John Murtha was caught red-faced yesterday during his press conference.
Reporter Jeff Gannon caught antiwar democrat John Murtha off guard when he asked Murtha if he was going to apologize to the Haditha Marines he slandered.
Antiwar democrat John Murtha was awarded the Pink Badge of Courage for his stand against the troops in Iraq.
The Hill reported today on the red-faced Murtha:
Murtha, a key adviser to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on military issues, is not waiting on the presidential calendar to push withdrawal. He said he expects the Iraq war supplemental spending bill, up for debate in October or November, to include a specific date for withdrawal to be completed.
He said that date should be 12 to 15 months after withdrawal is ordered to begin, but added he didn’t know what time should be set for that to occur.
Though he frequently deferred to what he called “leadership decisions,” Murtha’s will be an important voice in the Democratic Caucus’s debate about what course to pursue on Iraq. There is no clear path forward now that commanding Gen. David Petraeus made the case that Bush’s “surge” has been a military success and Republicans decided to stick with Bush on the war.
Murtha’s hour-long speech included numerous historical references to Vietnam, as well as references to his past statements about the errors in the Bush administration’s execution of the war.
Conservative writer Jeff Gannon, who was in the audience, challenged Murtha on another statement he had made, that Marines in Haditha had killed Iraqi civilians “in cold blood.”
Charges have been dropped against several Marines, though others remain charged with murder. Gannon asked Murtha if he would apologize, and Murtha refused.
ANOTHER HADITHA MARINE CLEARED…
Charges were dropped today against Capt. Lucas McConnell.
Several of the Haditha marines have had charges dropped against them yet democrat Murtha refuses to apologize!“The trials are not over yet,” Murtha said, reddening slightly in the face.
Also in response to Gannon, Murtha tersely deemed inappropriate the newspaper advertisement taken out by the liberal group MoveOn.org criticizing commanding Gen. David Petraeus as “General Betray Us.” Without elaborating, Murtha said “Yes” when asked if he would distance himself from the ad.
Murtha also took issue with the administration’s reports of military progress in Iraq, though he voiced no criticism of Petraeus.
Obviously, Jeff Gannon stuck out being the only “conservative writer” in the building. Gannon has an excellent report on the confrontation at his website.
Marines are suing antiwar democrat John Murtha for defamation of character.
Defend Our Marines has the latest developments on the Haditha Case.
Related… Murtha may be an antiwar democrat, but he has no problem with military pork.
(Via Instapundit)
