This article was featured in the Tribune-Democrat on February 1, 2010.  By Randy Griffith, Tribune-Democrat Staff-Writer.

WASHINGTON - Seated in his chairman's spot in the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee conference room, Rep. John Murtha recalled another highlight in the foreign policy arena during his 36 years in Congress.

"I sat right here in this room," Murtha said from behind the ornate conference table.

"Joe McDade (of Scranton) was the ranking member of the committee at the time," he continued.

"The television was on behind us. He said, ‘Look at this, what's happening here?' We turned around and the (Berlin) wall was coming down.' "

The fall of communism eclipses all other events for the 77-year-old Westmont Democrat, who dropped out of prestigious Washington and Jefferson College in 1952 to enlist in the Marine Corps as a private to go to Korea.

"I said, ‘It's not right for me to be here,' " Murtha recalled.

"There is a war going on. We are fighting the communists."

Later he volunteered to serve in Vietnam as an officer, where he received two purple hearts for minor injuries related to enemy fire.

His military service provided a background to seek elected office, and achieve his childhood ambition.

"I always wanted to be in politics," Murtha said. "I remember when I was a kid I wanted to be in the Marine Corps and I?wanted to be in Congress."

On Feb. 20, Murtha begins his 37th year in the House of Representatives, becoming the longest-serving congressman in Pennsylvania history.

Wars and money

A student of history, Murtha said he was influenced by World War I veterans he knew growing up in western Pennsylvania and by his father and uncles who served in World War II. His brothers also joined the Marines, carrying on a family tradition of military service that dates back to his mother's ancestors, Robert Bell in the Revolutionary War and Abraham Tidball Bell, a Union soldier in the Civil War.

But a military career was not for Murtha, he learned from the two wars he fought in, saying they helped lead to the fall of communism.

"We resisted communism for years," Murtha said, "Even though there was a stalemate in Korea. Even though we got pushed out of Vietnam. This was something where the country was behind the presidents. We were able to force the Soviet Union to fall apart."

Other foreign policy successes Murtha takes partial credit for include exposing the fraudulent election of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines, the removal of Manuel Noriega from power in Panama, and supporting El?Salvadore's push against communist insurgents.

Congressman Charlie Wilson - portrayed by actor Tom Hanks in a recent movie - served on Murtha's committee, working to support Afghan fighters battling the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

Murtha takes credit for attracting swing votes to assure support for the United Nations Resolution on the 1991 Persian Gulf War, but he sees the current Iraq war as a "big disappointment."

"I voted for that war," Murtha said. "I had been over to Kuwait right before the war started. The military was convinced they were going to use chemical weapons."

He said he still was uneasy about invading Iraq, remembering President George H.W. Bush's policy in 1991.

"Bush One said, ‘We're not going into Iraq. I don't want to rebuild it,' " Murtha said. "He didn't want to spend the money. He didn't want to lose the support of the Arab states. He felt there was a balance between Iraq and Iran."

Despite those concerns, Murtha approved the 2003 invasion.

"I gave them the benefit of the doubt," Murtha said. "That was a bad mistake."

The cost of the war is a major concern, Murtha said, recalling the price paid for the Vietnam War. Inflation from the debt repayment affected the United States for years, Murtha says, crippling Jimmy Carter's presidency.

Interest from the current Iraq/Afghanistan war debt is costing the nation $32 billion a month, he said, noting the economic bailout debt is adding to his concern.

‘A diversified economy'

There have been successes on the homefront, Murtha said, pointing to environmental improvements, diabetes treatment and education, water and sewer projects and other economic-development work, including projects around John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport.

"We have 1,000 people working at the airport," Murtha said.

"We have worked continuously trying to put together a diversified economy that can withstand the type of recessions we have now."

Much of the growth began with federal earmarks that have come under criticism on several fronts, he said. Murtha defends the line-item allocations as a way for representatives to meet specific needs in their districts.

"I know better than those damn people in the White House what needs to be done in my district,"?Murtha said.

"That's the way I look at the other members."

What's more, he said, earmarks can help start-up companies develop systems to compete with established contractors, reducing costs over the long term.

"The point is, small business can do it cheaper," Murtha said.

"The big companies are always arguing they want to do all the business themselves. Well, the small companies out in the hinterland not only provide jobs, but they can provide (the product or service) cheaper. The companies out in our district, we've had no complaints at all about the work that they do. The big companies find they get their money's worth when they move to our area or any other area where it's outside Washington."

Murtha's work on economic diversification was an extension of his fight for the steel industry when it was threatened by competition from subsidized imports. Although the local steel plants closed, Murtha said he was able to preserve an important segment of the domestic production.

"I?said defense is the key," Murtha recalled. "I said, ‘We won't have steel for defense.' Reagan told his cabinet, ‘We are all free traders, I want you to work this out.'"

What they worked out would allow some modernized plants to survive, and Murtha hoped one could land in Johnstown.

"We allowed the U.S. to continue to be a premier steel producer," he said. "Our (plants) were so old we couldn't save them. They modernized the plants that they had in the areas where they could still produce along the Great Lakes."

‘Solved bipartisan'

Murtha understands he owes much of his success to his ability to listen to people and work behind the scenes with members from both parties.

"These big issues can only be solved bipartisan, because it affects every person in the country," Murtha said. "My (Defense Appropriations) committee is the perfect example of that. In this room we have 13 people. A majority are Democrats now. Before, the majority were Republicans for 10 years. But we worked together all these years and only a few people have voted against the (appropriations) bill. All this hoopla about partisanship: We passed our latest bill, which was $636 billion, 400 to 30. And we defeated 22 amendments. So it was completely bipartisan."

Health-care reform must also be a cooperative project, he said, recalling his advice to Hillary Clinton in the 1990s.

"She said what she wanted to do,"?Murtha recalled "I said, ‘You can't do that much, you can't do it secretly and you can't do it partisan.' "

The recent special election that put Republican Scott Brown into the Massachusetts Senate seat long held by Ted Kennedy should make both sides see the importance of working together, Murtha said.

"There is no question this election will change the direction of the country," Murtha said. "You won't hear the president make a big fuss about it. Presidents do not change their rhetoric. They keep talking. But a president can only propose. People forget that. There is a perception of power."

Murtha predicts leaders will go back to the drawing board to start with with scaled-down health-care reform measures.

"You try to adapt your position to what, realistically, you can get done," Murtha said. "It is not that they don't want health-care reform. People want health-care reform. They just want it done in a way that they can understand. So we have to back off and do less. I think we will see a change in direction."

‘Drumbeat of criticism'

The ability to compromise remains vital, despite the 24-hour news coverage focused on political differences, Murtha said, referring again to his subcommittee's bipartisan success.

"People complain about what I've done, but that's the way you do legislation," he said.

"That's my job. You just have to ignore that drumbeat of criticism. In the end, if you work with people in a bipartisan way, you are going to solve the problem."

Division is nothing new, he continued, recalling his own mentor, former speaker Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr.

O'Neill faced off with President Ronald?Reagan at a time when Democrats held a strong majority in Congress.

"You couldn't have had more disagreement than you had with Reagan and Tip," he said.

"Tip was ultraliberal. Tip didn't get along with the Carter administration because he thought they were too moderate. Even though we disagreed, we were able to solve things."

President Barack Obama has shown he is willing to listen to people and work on compromises, Murtha said.

"They have changed the perception of the U.S. in the world," Murtha said. "The reason is: He's now talking to people. I see foreign dignitaries who say, ‘We appreciate the president's people talking to us, and asking us for advice and then not dictating to us.' The previous administration ignored these other countries and went forward without talking to them."

The U.S. is getting more international support in Afghanistan because of the Obama administration's approach and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's work, he added.

"He's really done a masterful job," Murtha said "I think the reason he got the Nobel Peace Prize is because those other countries saw he was trying to reach out. He will accomplish something by reaching out."

‘The big picture'

Murtha admits his own ability to solve problems by working with other lawmakers was interrupted when he took a strong stance against the Bush administration's war policy in Iraq.

"That was when I couldn't go on not getting a response from the administration about the war," Murtha said.

"For a period of time, I spoke out very publicly against the way they were running the war, but still supporting the troops."

Murtha drew criticism for his war opposition.?The strongest followed his announcement that an internal investigation showed about two dozen unarmed Iraqi civilians, including women and children, were killed "in cold blood" when Marines opened fire in the village of Haditha following a road bomb explosion.

Many have called on Murtha to apologize, he said he was trying to call attention to the pressures troops were under in Iraq.

"I don't take a back seat to anybody for my service to the country, but there is no question in my mind they went way too far," Murtha said. "That was one of the problems we had. I feel very strongly that Abu Ghraib and all those kind of things that happened. I'll tell you one god damn thing, you can't just kill people and not have an affect on the rest of the country. That had an affect on Iraq just like Abu Ghraib did."

The incident came at a time in the war when American troops had killed a number of civilians at checkpoints - often by mistake and because of miscommunication, Murtha said.

"What I was doing here was I?was looking at the big picture," Murtha said. "I make comments when I?believe it might (bring) change. I?felt very strongly because of what was going on."

‘Investment in my district'

The Haditha remarks and war opposition put the local congressman into a national spotlight and led to talk of another national scandal that touched his career.

In 1980, Murtha was videotaped as part of the FBI undercover investigation - Abscam.

In the tape, agents posing as an Arab sheik and his associates offer bribes to help them do business in the United States.

Although he clearly does not take any money on the tape, and was cleared of all charges, the investigation continues to dog Murtha.

"It's very simple," Murtha said. "I was trying to get jobs for the district, and they knew that. The Ethics committee cleared me. There was only one person who voted against me on any of the charges in the ethics committee. They pulled a drawer open and said here's $50,000. I said I'm not interested in that. I'm interested in investment in my district. That is what I've always been interested in."

It is one of the things that keeps him coming back for more.

Murtha recently confirmed his plans to run for another term in the House. It would be his 18th term. He also completed one partial term.

"We still have some economic development we need to do," Murtha said. "I still have some things I want to do with the military. The acquisition of some tankers I think is essential. We have to get that out of the way.

"In the district itself, we need to continue to improve the number of jobs we have. As long as I'm in good health and people keep electing me, I'm going to keep working."