Was once in thirty years not enough? Like the deadly black mold in New Orleans, the calls to cut and run in Iraq are spreading.

Warning that other global threats “cannot be ignored,” Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, a leading adviser on defense issues, called on Thursday for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

“U.S. and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq,” the senior lawmaker said. “It’s time for a change in direction.”

He said he believes all the forces could be redeployed over a six-month period.

Murtha, a former Marine Corps colonel and veteran of the Vietnam war, is the first senior lawmaker to call for an immediate withdrawal. Other critics of the war have asked President Bush to set up a timetable for withdrawal.

I thought that Ted Kennedy had already called for immediate withdrawal a while back. He is certainly a senior lawmaker. I guess even the MSM recognizes the problems with Kennedy’s credibility.

Update: The calls for withdrawal are not limited to Democrats. A Republican congressman from my state of North Carolina beat many Democrats to the punch a few months ago. While he did not call for immediate withdrawal, he was asking for a timetable with the troops out by October 2006. For the record, I thought that was disgraceful and dumb, too.

Update II: For those wondering about the black mold reference and link above, I just happened to see that story around the time I heard Murtha on the radio and the comparison of the rot and stench of both just seemed appropriate.

Update III: Here is my take on this strategy. The more I think about it, the more I believe this is just a way to diminish any political goodwill that will accrue to the Bush administration when troops do begin leaving Iraq. I think the same can be said for the timetable Democrats wanted to impose in the Congress. With upcoming elections and the trial of Saddam, and more and more Iraqi troops and police being trained daily, it is likely, and I think the President has even stated, that the American military presence will start being scaled back within the next 6 – 12 months. When that happens, Democrats will try to claim it was the pressure they exerted that caused it. We all know that is what the President has said all along — that we will leave when the Iraqis no longer need us there. The public, however, has heard a constant drumbeat from Democrats and the media that there is no exit strategy.

This war has become the Democrats’ best hope for 2006 and they are going to do whatever it takes to get the maximum advantage from it. The more American lives that are lost between now and then, the better they think it will be for them. That is the sad truth. Hopefully, not even the mainstream media will not be able to disguise that strategy.

Glenn Reynolds has links to opinion on withdrawal.

David Dreier says this sends the worst possible message.

Update: A smart reader pointed out that this would not be the second time in thirty years. We cut and ran in Somalia and look what happened there.