Has Murray lost her way over the war?

[eridani]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/335305_firstperson15.html
Has Murray lost her way over the war?
By GUNNEL CLARK
GUEST COLUMNIST

Since the beginning of this year a group of military families has been trying to meet with Sen. Patty Murray to talk about their concerns over the war in Iraq. They represent families who have made the ultimate sacrifice and those who have the most to lose in this endless war.

One is a father whose son was killed in Iraq, another a father whose son has just shipped off to Iraq for his third tour, yet another a young Iraq war veteran. Their attempts to meet with Murray have been to no avail and their questions remain unanswered.

Looking at Murray's statements on her Web site about the war makes for some very confusing reading. She states she has steadfastly voted for funding of the war because she wants the troops to "have the resources and equipment necessary to protect themselves and complete their mission successfully."

What mission? In her statement in response to Gen. David Petraeus' testimony, she says, "It is clear that despite the stellar efforts of our troops, this conflict simply cannot be solved militarily." She also states: "In fact, by forcing our troops to police a civil war, the president's policy is impairing our military readiness and our ability to fight and win the broader war on terror."

The senator, who courageously voted against the original Iraq resolution, seems to have lost her way. How can she continue to actively support funding for a war she does not believe in? Her work with returning wounded soldiers, however commendable, does not absolve her from her responsibility for the continuing killing and maiming of our troops in an illegal war as long as she continues to fund that war.

Murray's membership on the Appropriations Committee puts her right in the middle of the debate over the war funding. The Bush administration has now requested nearly $200 billion to fund the war for the coming year. Considering her stated views on the war, you would expect her to stand up and scream: "Enough is enough! No more! Let's support our troops and bring them home out of harm's way!"

But she displays no such leadership! Instead, according to her Web site, the senator asked three "tough questions" of Defense Secretary Robert Gates during a hearing. The three questions she posed dealt with how much time to give the Iraqi government, how long our country should be willing to stay in Iraq, and treatment of the returning, wounded soldiers. She posed no questions about the legality of the war, false claims or fabricated intelligence, etc., or, most important, how we can possibly justify that every day an average of three soldiers are killed and many more wounded for a cause that was lost before it started, not to speak about the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have been killed and the millions who have been displaced.

The military families mentioned above have not given up their quest to have a dialogue with the senator. In a desperate attempt to ask her for a meeting, three of them attended a Democratic fundraiser in Bellevue a week ago Sunday. Murray swept in for her talk and left. She left no time for questions or for interaction, not even with the donors to the Democratic Party.

Where is the Sen. Murray who courageously voted against the war?