Time and again, you hear supporters of the war in Iraq say that Iraq is no Vietnam. They also dispute use of the word “quagmire” (supporters of the Iraq war deny it’s a quagmire).
“Iraq is not Vietnam,” they say.
Translated, this means they think the conflict in Iraq, which is not over as Mr. Bush pronounced it in May, will end on a happy note for America, unlike in Vietnam. It’s a dishonest saying because it’s ridiculous and ambiguous. Of course Iraq is not Vietnam. The two are different conflicts in different times.
If these people were brave, they’d simply say, “Iraq is going to be a happy ending.” But to say this, you run the risk of egg on your face if it doesn’t come true. It’s safer to make a hazy statement that won’t pin you down so bad.
Like, “Iraq is no Vietnam.”
Admittedly, there are differences between the two wars.
Vietnam is a jungle country, whereas Iraq is mostly sand dunes, a better place to exhibit overwhelming American firepower and armored mobility. Also, America never invaded North Vietnam, while we are currently in possession (however tenuously) of Iraq.
But there are also some disturbing similarities.
Both Vietnam and Iraq were and are disagreements in which people shoot at each other and blow each other up. One act leads to another, backed by different agendas. The killing will continue until the need for it disappears.
In both Vietnam and Iraq, you have American (alleged) leadership that is rigid and like a dinosaur, unable to adapt to new conditions, new evidence or changing developments. Once you’ve taken a stand, that’s it. There’s no changing course, no admitting the truth, even if you’re wrong (you blame your CIA director).
Concrete mindset leads the president to make some pretty absurd statements, like, “The terrorists are just waiting for us to show any signs of weakness.” Show me any war where the other side doesn’t hope for weakness.
Bush says progress is being made over and over as though reciting a rosary. If he was honest, he’d at the very least say, “I know it’s tough, but we’re doing the best we can.”
If he said this, it might cost him votes.
His typical response to insurgents who are proving better at hit-and-run attacks than they were at set-piece battles is to lose his temper and say “bring ‘em on,” daring terrorists to attack his own troops. This challenge is being acted upon.
“Progress is being made” seems kind of similar to that phrase used back in Vietnam, “light at the end of the tunnel.”
In some respects, we were better off in Vietnam (from a tactical standpoint). We were at least able to call in more troops as an option, escalating the war. Bush and his crazy defense secretary painted themselves into a corner by saying no more troops in Iraq are needed, despite evidence and testimony to the contrary. They can’t go back on their word now. They banked everything on a quick, cheap, clean war.
Wars seldom turn out that way.
Like Vietnam, Iraq has fractured, divided this country, those against the war being accused of disloyalty by people who claim to respect freedom of speech but in fact don’t. Bush called protestors contemptuously a “focal group,” yet bills himself as the “Great Uniter.”
Like Vietnam, Iraq has hurt the image of the US in the rest of the world. This is a predictable price paid when a superpower whips up on an impoverished Third World Country (despite Saddam’s former personal wealth).
Bush earlier said to the UN, basically, “get out of the way if you don’t have the guts.” Now, Colin Powell is asking those same countries for help. Maybe Bush is capable of adapting after all.
