Vet's-eye view of Murtha

This opinion piece by an Iraq war veteran ain't all sunshine and lollipops (he mentions, for example, that Bronze Stars for valor are becoming almost "alarmingly" common--a measure of the intensity of combat) but it rips the Dems a new one for their defeatism.

The author, David Bellavia, is especially hard on Rep. John Murtha, the Pennsylvaina Democrat who upped turned up his rhetoric to the "Ted Kennedy" setting yesterday, saying, "There's no way we can win a war when you've lost not only the hearts and minds of the people (of Iraq), when you become the enemy."

Sez Bellavia:

Each day, the Iraqi war veteran grows closer to the embarrassing disrespect of the Vietnam warrior. Each day, legislators like Murtha move us closer to losing a winnable war and abandoning a worthy ally. Staying the course isn't a campaign slogan; it is a life support message to my peers. Like Vietnam, the American soldier cannot be defeated on the field of battle, only by the failure of the political class to stomach the hardships of combat.

You'd think Murtha, a Vietnam vet, would understand this. I guess you'd be wrong.

Like the man says, read the whole thing.