Rep. John Murtha, historically an advocate for immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq, said on Thursday that he believes the troop surge is working.

In May, Murtha said the surge of 130,000 troops was not working. While he told reporters he now believes the surge is working, Murtha said that is just one piece of the puzzle.

In a statement released Friday, Murtha said, "The military surge has created a window of opportunity for the Iraqi government. Unfortunately, the sacrifice of our troops has not been met by the Iraqi government and they have failed to capitalize on the political and diplomatic steps that the surge was designed to provide."

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Several times during Thursday's appearance in Johnstown, Murtha talked about the strides the U.S. military is making including in the Anbar province. There, he said, the U.S. is recruiting Sunnis to be part of a neighborhood watch group and paying them $300 a month with U.S. tax dollars. Murtha said, despite that, the added help is working to stabilize the region.

The White House, Murtha said, is planning to bring home about 1/4 of the troops over the next seven months.

Stay with Channel 6 News and WJACTV.com for continuing coverage.