Murtha: Iraq War incites homegrown terror groups

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), on ABC's morning news show This Week, argued that the US presence in Iraq is being used by al Qaeda as a recruitment tool.

When asked by host George Stephanopoulos if "homegrown terrorist plots," like the one to attack JFK airport, were "being inspired by the US work in Iraq," Murtha responded, "Absolutely."

"Our presence in Iraq, our occupation of Iraq gives these people the inspiration," continued Murtha about terrorists planning to carry out attacks on US interests. "We didn't have this kind of a problem before, they came from Afghanistan, but now we even have them in the United States. So I'm absolutely convinced that this is the kind of thing that inspires these people."

"We did have 9/11 before we went into Iraq," said Stephanopoulos.

"Yeah, we had 9/11," replied Murtha, "but that came from Afghanistan. There was no al Qaeda in Iraq."

The following video is from ABC's This Week, broadcast on June 3.