[elcid1970]

I don't get the Dien Bien Phu analogy from Pat. That was the name of the cataclysmic defeat in 1954 of French colonial forces on a conventional battlefield by an underestimated enemy, instantly followed by a disastrous political decision to quit Indochina as quickly as possible.

So where's the Iraqi equivalent of Dien Bien Phu (more siege than battle, BTW)?

Fallujah?

A much closer American equivalent to Dien Bien Phu would be Somalia, 1993. The military defeated more by their political `leadership' at home than by the enemy on the ground.

Hmmm. Sounds sort of like our withdrawal from Vietnam.

But Iraq as Dien Bien Phu? Ain't happenin' dat way, bro.

[jveritas]

It seems Pat Buchanan has no clue what is Dien Bien Phu, he may have heard about it in for few seconds on the History Channel while flipping his remote control to find a Bash Bush program to watch.

[jveritas]

Over 15000 French soldiers were lost in the battle Dien Bien Phu between KIA, MIA and captured ( almost 11,000 were captured by the Viet Cong) and this idiot Buchanan is bringing this battle as a comparison to Iraq!