WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A Republican congressman has vowed to fight Rep. John Murtha's Iraq troop cuts plan.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, Thursday claimed that the new plan presented by Rep. Murtha, D-Penn., a Vietnam war combat veteran, to prevent additional U.S. forces being sent to Iraq was "extremely dangerous."
"America's military strength and our deterrent capability are largely dependent upon the ability of our nation to send troops quickly in reinforcing capacities to conflicts anywhere on the globe. Congress's attempts to prohibit the movement of such troops by management policies are extremely dangerous," Hunter said in a statement.
The Murtha initiative "could stop reinforcements from arriving in time to stop major casualties in any of a number of scenarios," Hunter said.
"Further, our strength on the battlefield is also a function of sending seasoned veterans for the purpose of mentoring the new troops on the battlefield," he said.
"I said on the first day of this debate: the Iraq resolution and the new proposal to cut off troop deployments through the operation and maintenance budget are going to be seen by America's friends, America's enemies and America's troops as the first signals of retreat in the war on terrorism," Hunter said."
"I will fight any attempt to keep supplies or personnel from reaching the battlefield," he said.
