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Is IRAQ and VIETNAM One and the Same?

g under pg under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,200
edited August 2007 in A Moving Train
WASHINGTON -- After years of rejecting the comparison, President Bush surprised observers yesterday by invoking the "painful and complex" legacy of Vietnam as an example of why the US military must continue fighting in Iraq, declaring that America must not "abandon" Iraqis who are struggling to build a free society.

Do you think President Bush has this right that Iraq will basically fall apart if we pull out or is this just a tactic to keep up there for up to 10 years like we did in Vietnam?
http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2007/08/23/president_compares_vietnam_iraq_wars/
President Bush warned Wednesday that a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq would lead to mass bloodshed similar to what happened in Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War. He urged critics of the current war to "learn something from history" and "resist the allure of retreat." We speak with historian and investigative journalist, Gareth Porter.

Are we to believe this to be true, is he a President we can tell us any truth?
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/23/1333248

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Comments

  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    Uh.
    I hate to say this, but Bush could be right about that.

    The thing vietnam had going was that the north and south, fundamentaly, really did not want to be divided.

    They desperately sought to be one united country, self governed.

    Unfortunately, Iraq does NOT have that cohesion.
    The only reason Iraq was stable, was because an "evil dictator" ruthlessly repressed all dissidents (although his death count ain't nearly as high as the reign of terror we have wreaked on poor Iraq) ...

    Anyhow ... yeah, Iraq could fall to shit ... the administration knew it from the outset ... as i recall they discussed it openly before invasion as well ...

    but you know what?
    That is what they want.
    The DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE.

    Are you serious?
    Leave the oil behind?
    Leave behind a perfect platform to launch in to IRAN with?

    Sweet lord, no.
    We are there for a reason, and we will be there INDEFINATELY ... and by that, i mean, until the "job" is done ... and by that i mean ... well, you know ... once we have blowed up all da bad guys ... or armed them well enough to blow up all of eachother ... and then shoot the ones who are left ... installed puppet governments and bases everywhere we can ... and get ready to lock and load to take on dem evil commies ... the ruskies and the chinamen.

    (of course, that's not me talking, thats the dickheads in charge)

    :(
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • CosmoCosmo Posts: 12,225
    I find it freightenly comical that Bush would envoke Viet Nam after going after Viet Nam veterans McCain in 2000 and Kerry in 2004. Granted, I'm not a big fan of either McCain nor Kerry, but the fact remains, they served in armed combat. In my opinion, to question their actions is to question all decorated veterans of that war. I do not believe that the the Army and Navy hand out commendations such as Purple Hearts and Bronze Stars like Cracker Jack trinkets.
    And had we 'Stayed in Viet Nam'... what would Viet Nam be today? We were there to keep them divided. He brings up 'Killing Fields' in Cambodia... weren't WE the ones who set up the situation here with our illegal covert war in that country? The North Viet Namese Army did not come down and slaughter South Viet Namese soldiers. They came in and said, 'We are brothers'. And it was the Army of Viet Nam that went into Cambodia to end the reign of the Khmer Rouge. It think it's kind of funny that he did not bring up 'Dominoe Theory' in his 'Introduction to American vocabulary' when speaking of Viet Nam.
    The only similarities betwen Viet Nam and Iraq is that the U.S. thinks it can effect change militarily, not politically. The military quamire, restricted rule of engagement and the battle field command decisions from Washington, not from the battle zone are also similarities.
    A probable ending of Iraq will be the creation of a Shi'ia block as the Shi'ia minority in the region band together to get their vision of Islam in the region. We have removed the obstacle to their unification when we toppled the Hussein regime. We should have fully assesed the consequences of our actions and come up with a better plan to effect a change... driven by the Iraqi people, not us... but, we didn't. That would have required tough problem solving skills. We chose the gun as the solution.
    The reason why American soldiers died in Viet Nam and Iraq is because we went to both with America's best interests at the forefront... not the best interests of the people of Viet Nam or Iraq.
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  • 1970RR1970RR Posts: 281
    I think the correct Vietnam comparison Bush should have used is: Our withdrawal from Vietnam did not prevent victory in the Cold War, just as our withdrawal from Iraq will not ensure defeat in the War on Terror.

    Also, he speaks of the mass bloodshed our withdrawl caused while failing to note the equally, if not more, bloodshed caused by our involvement.

    So looking at it this way, yeah , they are kind of the same.
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