John Murtha, 77, the conservative Democrat from Pennsylvania, died Monday of complications from surgery for removing his gallbladder.

The former Marine drill instructor, who was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star during the Vietnam War, died peacefully with his family at his side at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., where he was admitted to January 31, his office said.

Murtha was the first combat veteran of the Vietnam war to be elected to the House of Representatives in February, 1974. He dedicated his life to serving his country both in the military and in the halls of Congress. Last Saturday, he became Pennsylvania's longest-serving Member of Congress.

President Barack Obama led the nation in paying tributes to a Congressman whose influence in both domestic and foreign policy matters spanned more than three decades.

'Jack's tough-as-nails reputation carried (from the US Marines) over to Congress, where he became a respected voice on issues of national security,' Obama said, as he ordered flags to fly at half staff.

In his tribute, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he would always remember and be grateful to Murtha's personal efforts on behalf of the Afghan resistance fighting the Soviets--efforts that helped bring about the end of the Cold War, and hastened the disintegration of the U.S.S.R.

Together with Texas congressman Charlie Wilson, he worked on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in the 1980's to secretly provide funding for the CIA to supply arms to anti-Soviet Islamic militants in Afghanistan--a move that is backfiring on the Americans now in that south-west Asian nation.

'Stinger missiles became successful in shooting down Soviet helicopters and aircraft and turning the tide for the Afghan resistance,' said a biography from his office.

In a statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, described him a 'great patriot' and a 'champion of our national security' who, in his actions, was 'always putting the troops and their families first.'

Chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Murtha voted in 2002 for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, but turned a vocal and influential critic of the war over the Bush Administration's handling of the war, which prompted him in November 2005 to call for an immediate withdrawal of American troops.

'The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion,' he said.

In 2006, Murtha charged some American soldiers with killing unarmed civilians in Haditha, Iraq, and accused the Pentagon of trying to cover it up.

Murtha also played decisive roles in the U.S. overthrow of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, and in events that caused long-time strongman Ferdinand Marcos to flee the Philippines.

The 'King of Pork,' as some critics call him, has been credited with pumping some two billion dollars in taxpayer money to his western Pennsylvania district over the last 18 years.

The Democrat has also been credited with the setting up of the the over-sized John Murtha Airport just outside small Johnstown. The airport, with two runways, a restaurant, lounge and fully-equipped air traffic control tower, caters to all of the three flights a day.

The fierce U.S. congressional critic of the Iraq war, in recent years, had to fend off charges of impropriety for approving expenditures that benefited firms whose officers contributed to his campaigns.

And as recently as last year, Murtha voiced skepticism about President Obama's troop-surge in Afghanistan to help defeat Islamic extremists, saying he was 'not sure that there's a threat to our national security' posed by the turmoil in that country.

He argued that al-Qaeda operatives--once protected by Afghanistan's Taliban regime prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.--'can go any place, they don't have to be in Afghanistan.'

Source: Political: Iraq...