What next? A return to "defeat that looks like victory?"

Sometimes the head just spins. Rep. Murtha, distinguished veteran, strikes again as set out here:

Murtha said, "A year ago, I said we can't win this militarily, and I got all kinds of criticism." Now, Murtha told the strongly antiwar audience, "I worry about a slow withdrawal which makes it look like there's a victory when I think it should be a redeployment as quickly as possible and let the Iraqis handle the whole thing."

Of course, it sort of reminds me the Gore/Kerry election legacy and the lesson of Vietnam the left seems to have learned. Lose, declare victory and get out.

For his effort, Rep. Murtha earns the first EagleSpeak Dodo award given in 2006. Perhaps this quote from Monty Python better suits his attitude:

ARTHUR:
Run away! Run away!
KNIGHTS:
Run away! Run away!...
TIM:
Ha ha ha ha! Ha haw haw! Ha! Ha ha!
ARTHUR:
Right. How many did we lose?
LAUNCELOT:
Gawain.
GALAHAD:
Ector.
ARTHUR:
And Bors. That's five.
GALAHAD:
Three, sir.
ARTHUR:
Three. Three. And we'd better not risk another frontal assault. That rabbit's dynamite.
ROBIN:
Would it help to confuse it if we run away more?
ARTHUR:
Oh, shut up and go and change your armour.

UPDATE: I'm late to the party, but Mudville has been all over Rep. Murtha here and here. CDR Salamander has had his say here. Neither of them is old enough to remember the not-so-halcyon days of yore (during and after the Vietnam war) when the sort of nonsense spouted by Rep. Murtha and his cohort Rep Moran went unchallenged because there was no forum in which such counterpoints could be raised. Of course, Mudville gets the credit for putting forth Gen. Pace's comments to the press concerning Mr. Murtha's comments:

Q: If I could switch topics, sir, this week Representative John Murtha was asked if he would join the U.S. military today, and he said no. And pressed in that ABC interview -- and I don't know if you saw it or not -- he said -- the interviewer said, "I think you're saying the average guy who's considering recruitment is justified in saying, 'I don't want to serve.'" And he said, "Exactly right." Can get your response to those statements?

GEN. PACE: You know, when I got back yesterday, one of the first questions I was asked was what I thought about that. I had not seen the clip. I did get a chance to see it yesterday.

A large segment of the clip had to do with opinion about the war, and that's not my lane. This country's strength is based on the ability of its citizens and its leadership to have divergent views.

There were two parts in what I saw that went directly to my lane in the road, which is the health of the U.S. military. One was a statement that the U.S. Army is not well trained. The United States Army is well-trained. It is 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.

The second was a quote that you just mentioned. That's damaging to recruiting, 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're doing to serve this country. We have almost 300 million Americans who are being protected by 2.4 (million) volunteer active, Guard and Reserve members. We must recruit to that force. 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.

Q: Sir, you look and sound a little angry about this. Am I misreading that?

GEN. PACE: I would describe myself as "energized" -- (laughter) -- because we have an all-volunteer, all-recruited United States armed forces. I believe that all young people should have the opportunity to serve their country in whatever way they see fit, and that those who would elect to serve in the armed forces of the United States should be encouraged to do, especially when we're in a war where our enemy has stated intention of destroying our way of life.

Q: So, General, is it irresponsible of the congressman to have made those remarks?

GEN. PACE: I think I've said what I needed to say about that.(source)

Since General Pace can't say it, I will: Representative Murtha was way off-base and totally irresponsible in his comments.

Dodo.

UPDATE2: On further pondering, I guess the concept of a victory that is a victory is simply beyond their experience. In this world view, WWII resulted in the unleashing of nuclear weapons and victory in the Cold War resulted in the US being sole uncontrolled Super Power.