Murtha Details His Exit Strategy

Congressman Expects Big Reduction In Iraq Troops

(CBS) 
Murtha believes that all along the White House has been long on spin and short on truth.

"They need to be honest with the public. They need to admit they’ve made mistakes," Murtha says. "The admin — the president himself - needs to be honest with the public. He’s getting bad information from somebody. And I’ve been arguing with him now for several months."

Asked if he has talked to Mr. Bush face-to-face, Murtha says no, saying he hasn't been invited.

Asked what he thinks of the president, Murtha says he is isolated. "The most isolated president that I’ve served with," he says.

Murtha has served with seven presidents starting with Richard Nixon. He has been in congress for 32 years representing Johnstown, Pa. Most of his constituents back the war, but the congressman is king there, so his stand has led a shift in some local opinion about Iraq.

Murtha, who has two purple hearts, tells 60 Minutes that if George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, or Donald Rumsfeld had been in combat themselves, they’d have been more reluctant to send young Americans into battle.

"War’s a nasty business. It sears the soul. The shadow of friends killed, the shadow of killing people lives with you the rest of your life. So there’s no experience like being in combat," says Murtha.

Murtha wants all the troops home within six months, except for a quick reaction force of about 20,000 who would be based nearby in Kuwait. But he admits that when the Americans leave, a civil war in Iraq will intensify.

"If we leave, it’s gonna continue and somebody will prevail, just like in our Civil War in the United States. Somebody’s gonna prevail. It’s up to them. They want democracy, they gotta fight for that democracy," says Murtha.

But President Bush believes U.S. troops can stop a civil war and implies that John Murtha is a defeatist.

"Now, there are only two options before our country: victory or defeat," the president has said. "To retreat before victory would be an act of recklessness and dishonor and I will not allow it."

"Victory versus defeat is not a policy at all. What is the definition of victory?" Murtha questions. "There’s two policies. The one policy is you stay with an open-ended policy and Iraqis determine when we leave. And the other policy, is my recommendation, where we redeploy as quickly as possible."

Why has his policy not been endorsed by potential Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden or John Kerry?

"Because," says Murtha laughing, "they’re afraid. They’re afraid. They don’t understand it. They think there’s a safe way to work their way through this. And they’re afraid to get out there and make a statement that later on might come back to haunt ‘em."

But Murtha’s stand could come back to haunt him, if President Bush turns out to be right about Iraq.

Murtha, who left college to fight in the Korean War and stayed in the Marines for 37 years, said last week he would not have enlisted to fight in Iraq, and wouldn’t encourage others to enlist.

"Yeah, that’s because I disagree with the policy. I mean, when I was in college I remember vividly, I stood in my dormitory room and I looked down at - it was in the wintertime and I said I can’t stay here. This is not right, for me to be here. We’re fightin’ communism. And I oughta be in the military," Murtha recalls. "And I remember my mother cried. She was upset. My goodness, I left college. And after that three of my brothers joined the Marine Corps. My dad, three of his brothers served in World War II. So, you know, we know what it’s all about."

General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Murtha's comments are damaging to recruiting and hurting the troops.

"It’s damaging the morale of the troops who are deployed and it’s damaging the morale of their families who believe in what they are doing to serve this country," Gen. Pace said.

Murtha says Pace is frustrated. "He’s frustrated because he can’t meet the goals. Here’s what hurts recruitment. They’re rotated four and five times. They have no clear mission. It’s not what I say that hurts morale. This is long before I said anything that their recruiting had a problem."