Bush lacks credibility on Iraq, Murtha says

Edited on Wed Dec-07-05 04:10 PM by MadisonProgressive

Bush lacks credibility on Iraq, Murtha says

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Support for the war in Iraq is being undermined by a lack of credibility among top Bush administration officials, including the president himself, a leading Democratic congressman who advocates a U.S. withdrawal said Wednesday.

"I've seen damn little things that they have said was true turned out to be true," said Rep. John Murtha, a veteran Pennsylvania congressman and a retired Marine colonel. "That's my problem."

President Bush said Wednesday that Iraqis have made "quiet, steady progress" on economic, political and security issues during the two years of war.

But Murtha told reporters, "I don't see the kind of progress he sees." He said Iraqi electricity and oil production still lag behind prewar levels, and billions in reconstruction funds remain unspent.

Murtha is the ranking Democrat on the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee, and he voted to authorize the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But he shook up Washington in November when he called for a swift U.S. withdrawal, arguing that the presence of American troops is only making the conflict worse. (Posted 3:35 p.m.)