Gen. Pace Criticizes Sen. Murtha Remark

[thedrifter]

Gen. Pace Criticizes Sen. Murtha Remark

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
1 hour, 2 minutes ago

A Democratic congressman's remarks about the military are damaging to troop morale and to the Army's efforts to rebound from a recruiting slump, the nation's top general said Thursday.

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked at a Pentagon news conference to comment on remarks by Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a Marine Corps veteran who has become a leading voice in Congress advocating an early withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Pace was asked specifically about an ABC News interview this week in which Murtha, 73, said if he were eligible to join the military today he would not, nor would he expect others to join.

"That's damaging to recruiting," Pace said. "It's damaging to morale of the troops who are deployed, and it's damaging to the morale of their families who believe in what they are doing to serve this country."

Pace called the news conference to discuss his weeklong trip to Iraq and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf region. He said he found good troop morale and a "quiet confidence" that U.S. efforts in Iraq were on the right track. He added that Murtha's comments were among the first things he heard about upon returning Tuesday.

Military officers usually are reluctant to get drawn into political debates, but Pace said Murtha's remarks about recruiting are relevant to his responsibilities as Joint Chiefs chairman.

Pace praised the congressman's record but criticized his remarks.

"When a respected leader like Mr. Murtha, who has spent 37 extremely honorable years as a Marine, fought in two wars, has served the country extremely well in the Congress of the United States - when a respected individual like that says what he said, and 18- and 19-year-olds look to their leadership to determine how they are expected to act, they can get the wrong message," Pace said.

Aides at Murtha's Johnstown, Pa., office did not immediately return a call for comment.

Pace also predicted that the Saddam Hussein loyalists and other Iraqis who comprise the great bulk of the insurgency will increasingly give up, now that Iraq has approved its own constitution and held elections.

Pace said he believes the violence, which flared anew Thursday on one of the bloodiest days in Iraq in months, will abate as more Iraqis become convinced that the December elections will produce a representative government that will improve their lives.

"As they see their own government providing a way ahead that all of their citizens can understand as progress for their country, ... those who are fighting against the government right now who are Iraqis will more and more lay down their arms and decide to become part of the future of Iraq and not the past," Pace said.

In describing the continuing violence, Pace pointedly referred to terrorists and the al-Qaida network, rather than the anti-government Iraqis who are believed to comprise more than 90 percent of the insurgency.

"I do believe that over the course of the coming year that violence will subside," he said.

[OLE SARG]

To hear most Democrats talk, you would think the U. S. was the enemy!!!!!

SEMPER FI,
OLE SARG

[thedrifter]

Top General Peter Pace Strikes Back at John Murtha...Finally
by Jim Kouri
Jan 7, 2006

For months now, Representative John Murtha, Democrat from Pennsylvania, has enjoyed enormous positive press coverage ever since he began denigrating US military operations in Iraq culminating in his shrill call for immediate withdrawal of US troops.

Like gossipy school girls running to tattle on someone, the members of the mainstream news media scamper over to Murtha following every speech by President Bush on the subject of the Iraqi conflict. This is their new war hero of the year -- a war hero who shares their anti-American views, at least on the issue of Iraq.

When the media realized that Cindy Sheehan's circus was doing more harm than good, they needed someone new -- someone who would not be exposed as a dupe for the wacky left-wing of the Democrat Party. Once upon a time, they did not have to worry about their latest heroes being exposed as shills for the radical left. But now with emergence of talk radio, Fox News Channel and the Internet, that left-wing monopoly doesn't exist anymore.

But with John Murtha -- another Democrat war hero -- the mainstream media have found someone immune to attack. Even the Bush Administration backed off.

The more negative the comments made by Murtha, the more the media adore him. These are the members of the press who have no trouble with their consciences when they reveal top secret information to US enemies. These are people, who along with their comrades in the Democrat Party call traitors "whistleblowers." Sure, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg weren't traitors when they gave the Soviet Union nuclear secrets. They were whistleblowers who revealed America's nuclear technology to the communists so the world would be safe from capitalism and democracy.

If a top US general discusses the vitriol coming from the Democrats, the mainstream news media all but ignore his statements. For instance, when asked to respond Congressman John Murtha's negative comments about military operations in Iraq, as well as his recent comments that he would not join the military today, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace called such comments "damaging" to the armed forces.

"It's damaging to recruiting; it's damaging to the morale of the troops who are deployed; and it's damaging to the morale of their families who believe in what they're doing to serve this country," he said.

And such comments are damaging to the United States if they dissuade young people from joining the military, Pace added.

"We have almost 300 million Americans who are being protected by 2.4 [million] volunteer active, Guard and Reserve members, [and] we must recruit to that force," he said.

Pace said 18- and 19-year-olds "can get the wrong message" about the military when they hear respected leaders discourage military service. Military service is "very, very satisfying," and today's service members recognize the critical role they are playing in the country's defense, the top US military officer told Pentagon reporters today.
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Following a week-long trip throughout the Persian Gulf region and to Germany, the gutsy but soft-spoken Marine General Pace said he was impressed by the "incredibly high morale" among deployed troops and their confidence in the mission they are carrying out.

"They felt good about what they are doing and knew they are making a difference," he said after meeting with about 12,000 troops in Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Djibouti, aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt, and at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

They have a lot to be proud of with accomplishments made in 2005 in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world," he said. "No matter what we've asked our young folks to do, they have done superbly and made us proud.

Pace acknowledged that he sensed a "quiet confidence" among the US troops and foreign leaders he met with in how the war on terror is proceeding. They have "an understanding of the process, an understanding of the way ahead, and a feeling of confidence that if we collectively stay with it, we're going to be okay," he said.

The general said he's impressed by the caliber of the force and took offense with Murtha's assertions that the Army is broken. One wishes he will soon respond to another Democrat bigwig, Howard Dean, who said American would lose the war.

"The US Army is well-trained," he asserted. "It's the best-trained Army in the world. It has never been better trained, and we will continue to make sure that it stays well-trained."

"We have an all-volunteer, all-recruited United States armed forces," he said. "I believe that all young people should have the opportunity to service their country in whatever way they see fit, and that those who elect to serve in the armed forces should be encouraged to do so -- especially when we're in a war where our enemy has [the] stated intention of destroying our way of life."

General Pace was sworn in as the sixteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on September 30, 2005. In that capacity, he's the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council. Before becoming Chairman he served as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2001 to August 12, 2005.

General Pace is the first Marine to serve as Chairman. He also holds the distinction of being the first Marine to have served as the Vice Chairman.

Pace was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey. A 1967 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration from George Washington University and attended Harvard University for the Senior Executives in National and International Security program.

The General is also a graduate of the Infantry Officers' Advanced Course at Fort Benning, Ga.; the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, in Quantico, VA; and the National War College, at Ft. McNair, Washington, DC.

In 1968, upon completion of The Basic School, Quantico, Va., General Pace was assigned to the 2d Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division in the Republic of Vietnam, serving first as a Rifle Platoon Leader and subsequently as Assistant Operations Officer. He was later assigned to Marine Barracks, Washington, DC, where he served in a number of billets, to include Security Detachment Commander, Camp David; White House Social Aide; and Platoon Leader, Special Ceremonial Platoon.

General Pace has held command ranks at virtually every level, and served overseas in Nam Phong, Thailand; Seoul, Korea; and Yokota, Japan. While serving as President, Marine Corps University, then Brigadier General Pace served as Deputy Commander, Marine Forces, Somalia, from December 1992 until February 1993, and as the Deputy Commander, Joint Task Force - Somalia from October 1993 through March 1994.

After an assignment as the Director for Operations in Washington, DC, then Lieutenant General Pace served as the Commander, U. S. Marine Corps Forces, Atlantic/Europe/South. He was promoted to General and assumed duties as the Commander in Chief, United States Southern Command in September 2000.

General Pace's impressive list of military decorations include: Defense Distinguished Service Medal, with two oak leaf clusters; Defense Superior Service Medal; the Legion of Merit; Bronze Star Medal with Combat V; the Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Meritorious Service Medal with gold star; Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V"; Navy Achievement Medal with gold star; and the Combat Action Ribbon.

But the Democrat Party and their friends in the media have little affection for warriors who actually fight to win. They prefer the John Kerrys of the military, who return from a war zone and accuse our troops of being Genghis Khan. Or who accuse our soldiers of terrorizing women and children in the darkness of night. So don't expect them to give General Peter Pace the adulation he deserves.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

A VETERAN TELLS OFF MURTHA/MORAN
This. Is. Priceless.

Sgt. Mark Seavey confronted Democrat Reps. Jim Moran and John Murtha at a town hall meeting in Arlington, Va., earlier this week and left the moonbats momentarily speechless. Greyhawk transcribed Sgt. Seavey's comments. I have now isolated and captured the video clip from C-Span for educational purposes and for posterity:

The favorite moments were the look on Rep. Jim "Bad Boy" Moran's face when Sgt. Seavey challenged the Dems,' "demoralized troops" meme and noted that Moran didn't bother to send a single word of praise or attend a homecoming event when 200 of Moran's constituents returned from duty in Afghanistan...

To vew the video and transcript, click below:

http://p089.ezboard.com/fthefontmanscommunityfrm22.showMessage?topicID=983 1.topic

Ellie