Rep. John Murtha, a voice for veterans, dies after surgery

Rep. John Murtha, the tall, gruff-mannered formerMarine who became the de facto voice of veterans on Capitol Hill andlater an outspoken and influential critic of the Iraq War, died Monday.He was 77.  The Pennsylvania Democrat had been sufferingcomplications from gallbladder surgery. He died at Virginia HospitalCenter in Arlington, Va., with his family at his bedside, the hospitalsaid.  In 1974 Murtha, then an officer in the Marine Reserves,became the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress.Ethical questions often shadowed his congressional service, but he wasbest known for being among Congress’ most hawkish Democrats. He wieldedconsiderable clout for two decades as the ranking Democrat on the Housesubcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending.  Murtha voted in2002 to authorize President George W. Bush to use military force inIraq, but his growing frustration over the administration’s handling ofthe war prompted him in November 2005 to call for an immediatewithdrawal of U.S. troops.  “The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion,” he said.  Murtha’sopposition to the Iraq war rattled Washington, where he enjoyedbipartisan respect for his work on military issues. On Capitol Hill,Murtha was seen as speaking for those in uniform when it came tomilitary matters.

Source/more:  Associated Press/Comcast, http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20100208/US.Obit.Murtha/