[AndyJackson]

Vietnam and the WOT, of which Iraq is a campaign, do not lend themselves to comparisons.

Funny, but a lot of what Petraeus is doing right he learned from how we did it wrong in Vietnam. They are not quite so different as they may appear on the surface, both ultimately being counterinsurgency operations.

[PerConPat]

Funny, but a lot of what Petraeus is doing right he learned from how we did it wrong in Vietnam.

Well, I don't see anything funny about it. Whatever, the South Vietnamese government never had the hearts and minds of its people. It seems to me that the Iraqi government is legitimate. Further, the large number of "insurgents" who roamed around South Vietnam had numerous sanctuaries in which to hide. As to the the day to day conduct of asymmetrical warfare, I certainly wouldn't deny that much was learned from the Vietnam experience.

The article of this thread deals with the existence of a quagmire. I personally do not believe that we are currently in one. At any rate, Sun Tzu does have much to say; but he is also far removed from a time when one skilled terrorist with portable technology of mass destruction can visit tremendous damage upon an enemy. That, of course, is another distinction between the backdrops of the Vietnam War and the WOT.