Congressmen Ike Skelton and Tim Murphy Hurt in Iraq Vehicle Flip
 |
James Joyner | Monday, November 28, 2005 |
Congressmen Ike Skelton and Tim Murphy were injured when their vehicle overturned on their way to the Baghdad airport after visiting American troops for Thanksgiving. A third Member, Jim Marshall, was also in the vehicle but was unhurt.
Two Congressmen Hurt in Iraq Vehicle Flip (AP)
A military vehicle carrying three congressmen overturned on the way to the Baghdad airport, injuring two of them, the U.S. Embassy said Sunday. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., was airlifted to a military hospital in Germany for an MRI on his neck, and Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., was sent to a Baghdad hospital for evaluation, said Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., who was also in the vehicle but was not hurt when it overturned Saturday.
“I was supposed to come tour the hospital to talk to the wounded. I didn’t think I’d be among them,” Murphy told Pittsburgh’s KDKA-TV by phone from Germany. He said he expected to be home Monday night. Skelton’s spokeswoman Lara Battles said she believed Skelton was doing well but declined to comment further.
The politicians were riding in a convoy that was driving in the middle of the road, a common practice used by the military in Iraq to deter oncoming motorists. Shortly after dark, an oncoming tanker truck refused to yield, the embassy said. “Then all of a sudden brakes get slammed on. Then we hit something and go off the side of the road and tip over,” Marshall told The Macon (Ga.) Telegraph by phone from Baghdad. Marshall said that as the vehicle toppled over, he held onto Skelton, who has limited use of his arms due to childhood polio. The embassy said the driver’s quick reaction “probably averted disaster.”
The delegation had traveled to Afghanistan for Thanksgiving with the troops and then on to Baghdad to meet with troops there.
Hopefully, Murphy’s injuries are not serious.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
Follow James on FriendFeed | Twitter | Digg
- None Found
- OTB Latenight - Jim Croce
- Caption Contest Winners
- What’s the Opposite of Schadenfreude?
- Posse Comitatus? Its a Stupid Law Anyways
- Obama’s Short National Security Team
- Wire Politics
- 10 Funniest Political Quotes Of 2008 -
- Memeorandum Beats Google News
- US in Recession Since December 2007
- Sex Offender Registry Stupidity
- Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator linked with Two Congressmen Injured In Iraq
Vehicle flip? I'd have thought it was an errant champagne cork.
Hopefully, Murphy's injuries are not serious.
Damn right. And hopefully that scumbag liberal opportunist Skelton will rot in an Iraqi hospital. That's what he deserves for opposing Bush.
I gathered from the story that Skelton's injuries were comparatively minor and that he was sent to the hospital as a precaution.
And we don't wish for things like that to happen to political opponents. Let's leave that to the DU types.
Comments are Closed
