Rep. Murtha Compares Afghanistan Troop Surge to Vietnam

Meredith Jessup | September 14, 2009 4:26 PM

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) criticized his colleagues on Capitol Hill and the Obama administration Monday for considering additional troops to be sent to fight the onling war in Afghanistan. Murtha, the current chair of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, went so far as to compare the "surge" to Vietnam, saying the Obama administration needs a better strategy:

"In Vietnam it took 500,000 troops and that didn't solve the problem. So we have to take a different approach," Murtha told Foreign Policy magazine in an interview.

"I think that's what [Gen. Stanley McChrystal] is trying to do."...
In his interview, Murtha questioned whether a massive troop surge was possible, given the logistics of such a deployment.

"Look how long it took us to get 22,000 more troops, it took 18 months! Jesus Christ!" Murtha said. "When they talk about more troops they act as if you can send them in immediately."
The congressman also railed on NATO countries for lukewarmly supporting the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.
"At the same time, the American people are supporting this and the Europeans aren't supporting this," Murtha told FP. "The Europeans aren't doing a damn thing."