Posted on 10/26/2006 10:09:33 AM PDT by neverdem
The political cartoon on my office wall shows Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as a frazzled father trying to drive the car while kids in the front and back seats yell, "Is it Vietnam yet?"
Daryl Cagle's cartoon was delightful back in March 2003, lampooning critics of the war in Afghanistan. Now it's a mordant commentary on Iraq.
The tragic fact is that Iraq has become Vietnam -- a noble cause that has lost the support of the American people and Congress and is on the verge of ending in disaster. But this time, the consequences will be much worse.
Noble cause? Yes. The United States tried to save South Vietnam from being conquered by brutal communists. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush was trying to prevent weapons of mass destruction, which nearly everyone thought Iraq had, from being handed over to terrorists. And he wanted to bring democracy to Iraq as a model for the Middle East.
I think history shows that the United States and South Vietnam might have prevailed against the North but for the flagging will of the American people and opposition from the media and Congress.
For sure, as recent commentary has reminded us, the 1968 Tet offensive was a colossal military defeat for the communists -- 58,000 killed in two months -- even though it convinced Walter Cronkite and American elites that the war was unwinnable.
And so, it became unwinnable. Once Gen. Creighton Abrams took over as U.S. commander in Vietnam in 1968 and instituted new tactics, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces began winning battle after battle, but, as Abrams complained to his staff, "we never get a break from the umpires" in the media or Congress.
The Nixon policy of "Vietnamization" worked, too. U.S...
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
This whole thing comes down to the general opinion of the American people and who controls their collective opinion.
Wu Cheng'en said in the mid 1500s, "If you think you can or can't, you are right."
If we think we will lose in Iraq then we will.
If we think it is winnable, it is.
I personally think it is winnable, but it may take as long or longer than the cold war did.
"I think history shows that the United States and South Vietnam might have prevailed against the North but for the flagging will of the American people and opposition from the media and Congress."
Of course. April 1975 was a conventional big iron battle and one in which we (and the South Vietnamese) would have kicked General Giap's butt.... once again.
Win or lose... I get tired of hearing about winning the war...FYI..we won the war in Iraq in a couple of weeks...the war we are now involved in is worldwide... In terms of numbers of our soldiers...far more are killed in our inner cities by gang bangers each day than in Iraq.
Also....if we want to preserve our way of life here in America....we better win this war.
But Democrats will lose on 11/7, and terrorists and their backers will be tearing their hair and rending their garments, because they'll know the giant is awake and their asses are in the crosshairs.
The U.S. conceding to the communist-slime war and and propaganda machine in the '70, with Democrats firmly in control of everything, was sadly conceivable and even predictable.
But concession to a bunch of poorly equipped, suicidal, dark-ages maniac thugs without elementary school educations, who barely know how to bathe, because we somehow "fear" them, is inconceivable.
Take heart; it's darkest before the dawn.
.
Thank you for your CLARITY, PigRigger.
And for your CARING Heart.
Congresman DANA ROHRBACHER, new father to tripletts, is now afraid that we may not have to wait so long for the consequences of our leaving a Free Iraq to Islamic chaos to reach our shores. He tearingly states that if we abandon Iraq, like we did Vietnam long ago,
...NO Moderate Islamists will side with US across the world in our War against Terror.
My Friend, the End may be near, of which I'm certain.
.
>>I don't care what his rationale is. He hosted a freakin' fundraiser for her.
Hedging his bets, covering both sides of the fence.
He can't afford to get creamed by unfavorable rulings/legislation, no matter which side wins in 2008. He appears to be doing what a rational CEO looking out for his shareholders should be doing. It stinks, but that's what happens when events in the Imperial City on the Potomac can make or break you.
That left sabotage is what makes it like Vietnam. That and the hearts-and-minds nonsense that we are stuck with.
An Atheist's Defence of Christianity long, but worth it
There's No Security with Democrats in more ways than one
For New York Comptroller (Mark the calendar, you'll never believe! breaking news!) please, don't have a heart attack
From time to time, I’ll ping on noteworthy articles about politics, foreign and military affairs. FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.
Thanks for the ping!
"Bush and Rumsfeld will be blamed..." Mort says this and he's right. But Bush never behaved like LBJ, adjusting tactics to the latest public opinion polls. But once again, the American Mainstream Media and weasels in Congress will have undermined the will needed to prosecute the war on terror. And the fact that "Bush and Rumsfeld will be blamed" will be justification for those Dem "leaders" and the snivelling weasels in the media.
What Mort doesn't include in this piece is that it took Ronald Reagan's 8 years in the presidency to turn-around and re-assert the defense posture to win the Cold War. And that required huge budget deficits and some tough times in the economy (at least in the early years). I really wonder if America will be saved by some future visionary leader reasserting those core American values and determination. Makes me wonder.
Thank you for your service to our country, my friend. I'm sure you were proud to have Senator Kennedy meet with you and put his arm around you... and now I'm sure it sickens you in the memory.
You're right: never forget... never forget.
Interesting thread, thanks.
The only thing Iraq has in common with Vietnam is that both wars were easily winnable, but the leftist press decided to jump over to the enemy side and undermine the war effort.
They look back on the Vietnam peace marches, and on Watergate, and see the greatest victories the leftist press has ever won against their country's government. Those were the glory days, when they brought down LBJ and Nixon and forced us to abandon our allies in Vietnam.
We look back, of course, and see something very different. Treason, a war lost that could have been won, and millions of innocent victims killed and oppressed in Southeast Asia because of the delusions of hippy leftists.
The left controlled all the media back then, with very few exceptions. Now they have some competition, and we have to fight back by spreading the truth they try to cover up.
Think of that movie, "The Killing Fields." The point is that the reporter is the good guy and Nixon is the bad guy. The people who made that movie were so delusional they didn't even realize that that reporter is the man who BETRAYED his Vietnamese assistant whom he pretends to love, and that he BETRAYED all the victims of Pol Pot who were slaughtered because of HIS OWN treason and lies, the lies of the people who made that movie and tried to justify themselves.
And the breaking of the peace treaty. Don't forget that part.
And with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki showing no compunction about sitting on his thumb while his nation's own capital is under curfew only shows that we're trusting the wrong people to do the right thing.
Thanks for the ping!
That is beautiful!
Thank you for posting it.
Mort is totally wrong about the fence.
But, on this, he is absolutely correct.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.