arty. That lie put most of America to sleep in regard to the war in Vietnam and six years later over a million more Cambodians and Vietnamese had been murdered by Nixon and Henry Kissinger in their illegal air war against south East Asia. The excuse then was “peace with honor.” The obscuring deception today is “exit strategy.”

Congressman John Murtha was willing to counterpoint the absent balance of power in Washington DC by taking a strong position on an opposing pole to the sitting president and his rubber stamp Congress, as has Congressman Dennis Kucinich. Murtha gave his political future to do this, as evident in the recent Congressional vote which defeated Murtha’s bid to be the majority leader in the House. This defeat was augmented by a “swift boat” attack against Murtha by other Democrats, right wing rottweilers Michelle Malkin and Ann Coulter, a smear largely unchallenged by the mainstream media.

Despite the media’s ignoring the obvious fact, the 2006 election was a complete repudiation of President Bush's foreign (and lack of domestic) policy, in particular the invasion and occupation of Iraq. If the new Congress does not take up this mandate it is doomed.

With the recent return of the United States voting populace to apparent consciousness, we need to keep the ongoing military occupation under the closest scrutiny. The following Articles of Note spotlight one vital issue, the ongoing and increasingly brutal war in Iraq.

Murtha Swift Boated

November 17/18/19, 2006 -- Questions remain about where the right-wing American Spectator obtained a copy of the John Murtha videotape made of the FBI's attempted ABSCAM sting of the congressman conducted some twenty-five years ago. Since Murtha was never indicted for any wrongdoing, such a videotape was at the very least secret grand jury evidence and should have been kept sealed or destroyed after the statute of limitations expired. Since Robert Gates is a good friend of the American Spectator's publisher, the Senate should ask Gates about the origins of the Murtha videotape during his confirmation hearings. The reappearance of the Murtha tape after the recent election campaign was used by Murtha's opposition to sink his election as House Majority Leader in a swiftboat-type attack campaign.

The Mugging of Murtha

Congressman Kucinich calls for cutoff of Iraq funds

'Cut and Run' Must be First Step in Iraq

The United States upset the regional balance in the Mideast when it invaded Iraq. Restoring it requires bold initiatives, but "cutting and running" must precede them all. Only a withdrawal of all U.S. troops - within six months and with no preconditions - can break the paralysis that enfeebles our diplomacy. And the greatest obstacles to cutting and running are the psychological inhibitions of our leaders and the public. Our leaders do not act because their reputations are at stake. The public does not force them to act because it is blinded by the president's conjured set of illusions: that we are reducing terrorism by fighting in Iraq, creating democracy there, preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, making Israel more secure, not allowing our fallen soldiers to have died in vain, and others. But reality no longer can be avoided.