Is Iraq the same as Vietnam?

In a comment about another post, Dave Peyton again raised the point that Iraq and Vietnam are similar. Before the invasion, I made the same point in posts on "Huntington News . Net".

Ceertainly, there is no similarity in terrain. And that may be why many people are so willing to dismiss the things that are similar.

In Vietnam, we faced a determined, implacable enemy. We faced an enemy whose level of technology was a fraction of ours. We faced an enemy who did not wear uniforms. We faced an enemy who could easily hide among the populace. We faced an enemy willing to use terror as a weapon. We faced an enemy who used kidnapping, assassination, booby traps and "improvized explosive devices."

Does any of this sound familiar?

In Vietnam, we went in as "liberators" determined to help the people be free. We went in with the idea that conventional military force could easily defeat the poorly equipped guerrillas. We went in with the idea that our overwhelming power would bring the enemy to his knees in a short period of time.

Does any of this sound familiar?

In Vietnam, we went into a war with absolutely no idea who we were going to get out. With no "exit strategy."

Does that sound familiar?

Official pronouncements from our leadership are now taking on the "we don't know quite how or when, but we're gonna get out of here somehow" quality that sounds so much like things we heard from President Johnson and President Nixon.

In his comment, Dave Peyton suggests the time is no far off when we will, pretty much as we did in Vietnam, declare victory and come home. I find that a realistic assessment.... and a sad one. It is sad because, militarily, we did win in Vietnam. Our defeat was in the propaganda war.

This is NOT the fault of our troops. It is not for lack of training or equipment or desire or committment on their part.

It is a simple matter of our going to war unprepared; with no long range planning; with no idea of what we would do "IF"; believing that our powere made us invincible. We went to war with the idea that the people of Iraq would ALL welcome us as liberators and with no plan to deal with the situation if, as it proved, they didn't all welcome us.

We went to war with no plans for dealing with the inevitable destruction of infra-structure, leading to many Iraqi civilians being without basic necessities such as water and electricity.

In doing these things or, more accurately, not planning for them, we have turned Iraq into the finest recruiting tool that al Qaeda ever had. We have provided them with "live fire" training. And the world of the terrorist is Darwinian. Those who survive will be tougher, smarter, and better able to hurt us. We are not safer because of Iraq. In fact, we are in more danger from our failure to apprehend or kill bin Laden.

My Cavalry troopers and the Infantry and the Marines and the Air Force are kicking butt..... but it isn't enough. We aren't winning the "hearts and minds" of the people.

The time has long since come for the people of the United States to demand an accounting from the current administration. I will be accused of feeling as I do because I am not a Republican. So be it. I would demand the same accounting from a Democratic administration which got us into a similar mess.

We lost more than 58,000 men and women in Vietnam over the course of more than 20 years. That was a much higher intensity conflict and the physical number of troops was much higher on both sides than currently in Iraq. We have already sacrificed nearly 2,000 of our soldiers in Iraq. We should be able to see where this is leading. As the song said, "You don't have to be a weatherman to see which way the wind is blowing."

60 percent of the country thinks we're on the wrong course. It is time to bring our people home. Home to bands and welcoming parades and their families. It is time to bring them home.