Who can criticize the war?

Does one need to be a decorated veteran to criticize the war?

Congressman John Murtha spoke out saying "Our military has done everything that has been asked of them, the U.S. can not accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. IT IS TIME TO BRING THEM HOME." He was attacked as unpatriotic by the usual suspects, but the slime slinging didn't stick. President Bush was forced to distance himself from the attacks that had been launced from the White House, the Vice President, and the House Speaker. Bush said "a good man who served our country with honor and distinction as a Marine in Vietnam and as a United States congressman. And I know the decision to call for immediate withdrawal of our troops by Congressman Murtha was done in a careful and thoughtful way. . . . I disagree with his position."

But J. Douglas Allen-Taylor worries about what this means for the peace movement, arguing that it creates a dangerous precedent for what kind of person can take the lead in criticizing the war policies of the administration: "It concedes that the only moral voice who can oppose a war is someone who supported and/or participated in a past war. The flaw in the argument is that the Bush Administration and much of the national Republican leadership couldn't care less about distinguished past service; their strategy is to kneecap the opposition, using whatever methods, fair or foul, that come to mind."

It is throughful article and there are many comments, many of whom disagree.