Undermining the troops

In an op-ed piece in today's New York Times, former Secretary of the Navy James Webb blasts Republican operatives, acting on behalf of the Bush Administration, for their reprehensible smear campaign against Congressman Jack Murtha. Echoing similar baseless slander that has been hurled at John McCain, Max Cleland, and John Kerry before, the Cybercast News Service (which boasts the "talents" of a former RNC "news" hack and a producer for Rush Limbaugh) is attempting to cast doubt on Mr. Murtha's two Purple Hearts, and is contending that the Congressman didn't "deserve" his Bronze Star.

Mr. Webb notes:

Military people past and present have good reason to wonder if the current administration truly values their service beyond its immediate effect on its battlefield of choice. The casting of suspicion and doubt about the actions of veterans who have run against President Bush or opposed his policies has been a constant theme of his career.

It is inexcusable that Mr. Bush has not stepped up and emphatically denounced these attacks on the character of Congressman Murtha. At the same time, however, the President's silence is not unexpected. Despite his public claim to welcome debate about his policies, George the Younger's reaction to any and all critics has consistently mirrored that of a petulant six-year-old, resorting to name-calling and the dissemination of false information as his only means of explanation or defense.

When are we as a civilized people finally going to rise up and say to this President and his political machine, "Enough!" As Mr. Webb continues,

The political tactic of playing up the soldiers on the battlefield while tearing down the reputations of veterans who oppose them could eventually cost the Republicans dearly. It may be one reason that a preponderance of the Iraq war veterans who thus far have decided to run for office are doing so as Democrats.

A young American now serving in Iraq might rightly wonder whether his or her service will be deliberately misconstrued 20 years from now, in the next rendition of politically motivated spinmeisters who never had the courage to step forward and put their own lives on the line.

And all this time I thought it was we Liberals that were supposedly intent on undermining the troops...