Is John Murtha Responsible For The Deaths Of Americans?

While Rep. John Murtha's public cry for redeployment has been exhaustively covered in the media and commented on by pundits across the political spectrum, there haven't been many public attacks on Rep. Murtha, with the exception of Rep. Schmidt's clumsy remarks. Even the White House has chosen to respectfully disagree with Rep. Murtha, while attacking those who question the honesty of the Administration. However, consider the American Enterprise Institute's Michael Rubin's comments about Mr. Murtha's outcry. Mr. Rubin is quoted in the November 26 edition of The Economist as follows:

If America were to "cut and run", to use the shorthand that hawks in Washington always apply to their opponents' plans, al-Qaeda would indeed regard it as a victory. Even just talking about withdrawal emboldens the enemy, argues Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank. "Murtha's comments have gotten Americans killed," he says, "They've convinced the terrorists they are on the right track." A sudden dash for the exit, adds Mr Rubin, would also warn all current and future allies that they could not trust America.

These are strong words and should not be taken lightly or brushed aside. Mr. Rubin has directly related the comments of a revered U.S. Congressman to the deaths of American troops in Iraq. He indeed is convinced that there is a causal relationship between Rep. Murtha's remarks and the killing of U.S. soldiers. Many have suggested that discussion of withdrawing from Iraq shows weakness and "emboldens the enemy." However, this is the first time that I've observed that somebody is relating a specific person's comments to the deaths of service men and women.