Rep. Murtha compares surge to Vietnam

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) on Monday lambasted his fellow lawmakers and the White House for considering additional troop deployments to Afghanistan.

Murtha, the chair of the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee, even compared the proposed "surge" in Afghanistan to Vietnam, concluding that the Obama administration needed a better strategy if it hoped to succeed.

"In Vietnam it took 500,000 troops and that didn't solve the problem. So we have to take a different approach," Murtha told Foreign Policy magazine in an interview. "I think that's what [Gen. Stanley McChrystal] is trying to do."

The debate over whether to send additional U.S. forces to Afghanistan is slowly reaching a fever pitch, with Republicans advocating for an increase and Democrats signaling their skepticism. The White House has mostly remained quiet, awaiting a formal request by McChrystal, but the administration's official silence has not stopped many lawmakers from voicing their own positions.

In his interview, Murtha questioned whether a massive troop surge was possible, given the logistics of such a deployment.

"Look how long it took us to get 22,000 more troops, it took 18 months! Jesus Christ!" Murtha said. "When they talk about more troops they act as if you can send them in immediately."

The congressman also railed on NATO countries for lukewarmly supporting the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.

"At the same time, the American people are supporting this and the Europeans aren't supporting this," Murtha told FP. "The Europeans aren't doing a damn thing."