Representative John P. Murtha Dies at 77; Ex-Marine Was Iraq War Critic
Representative John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania, a gruff ex-Marine who used his immense power in military spending to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to his hard-luck district and who became an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, died on Monday. He was 77.
He died at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, where he was being treated for complications of gallbladder surgery, his office said. Mr. Murtha’s death came two days after he became the longest-serving congressman in Pennsylvania history, his office said, surpassing the record of Joseph M. McDade, a Scranton Republican who served from 1963 to 1999.
Elected in 1974 and the first Vietnam combat veteran to serve in Congress, Mr. Murtha voted in 2002 to authorize use of military force in Iraq. But he evolved into a leading foe of the war as it was conducted under the administration of President George W. Bush.
“The war in Iraq is not going as advertised,” Mr. Murtha said in November 2005 as he demanded an immediate withdrawal of American troops. He called the Iraq campaign “a flawed policy wrapped in illusion.”
Mr. Murtha’s long involvement in Pentagon issues and his history of hawkishness made the criticism all the more influential....
Mr. Murtha used his position as the ranking Democrat on the Appropriation Committee’s military subcommittee to reward or punish colleagues in both parties, depending on whether they went along with the special items, or earmarks, that he tucked into bills for the benefit of his 12th Congressional District. More often than not, they did....
Read entire article at NYT
He died at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, where he was being treated for complications of gallbladder surgery, his office said. Mr. Murtha’s death came two days after he became the longest-serving congressman in Pennsylvania history, his office said, surpassing the record of Joseph M. McDade, a Scranton Republican who served from 1963 to 1999.
Elected in 1974 and the first Vietnam combat veteran to serve in Congress, Mr. Murtha voted in 2002 to authorize use of military force in Iraq. But he evolved into a leading foe of the war as it was conducted under the administration of President George W. Bush.
“The war in Iraq is not going as advertised,” Mr. Murtha said in November 2005 as he demanded an immediate withdrawal of American troops. He called the Iraq campaign “a flawed policy wrapped in illusion.”
Mr. Murtha’s long involvement in Pentagon issues and his history of hawkishness made the criticism all the more influential....
Mr. Murtha used his position as the ranking Democrat on the Appropriation Committee’s military subcommittee to reward or punish colleagues in both parties, depending on whether they went along with the special items, or earmarks, that he tucked into bills for the benefit of his 12th Congressional District. More often than not, they did....