I count Vietnam as bigger blunder because of the number of Americans killed and maimed. I vivited Hanoi (Ho Chi Minh city now) 8 years ago during a cruise stop. It looked pretty good to me.
I can't argue with your logic; it's a very good point.
We just don't know what the final bill is going to be for the damage we've done in Iraq; there may be more American blood to be shed.
I despise LBJ for how he handled the Vietnam situation. But I will cut him a bit of slack on one thing. He really had nothing to guide him except the Korean War. And there we fought communism to a stalemate.
On the other hand, George W. Bush had all the lessons of Vietnam right in front of him. And yet Bush went ahead and repeated almost every one of LBJ’s mistakes.
I despise LBJ. But I’ll kick that feeling up a notch when it comes to George W. Bush.