Always reassuring to see that Bush has learned absolutely nothing from America's last military catastrophe. The decision to send troops to Vietnam was based on an ignorant ideology and was destined to fail because of a complete lack of understanding of the region's history. Both conflicts reached stages where the body bags continued to fill, at increasing paces with no end in sight, despite the optimistic forecasts back home and a dangerous stubborness to admit failure.
The Iraq War at this point will not be "won" just as we couldn't "win" in Vietnam. The definition of victory in either case is ambiguous. In Vietnam, we actually succeeded in completely devistating the society, thus discouraging others from stepping outside the U.S. global order. But as far as keeping Vietnam partitioned and maintaining a friendly dictatoship in the south -- it was pretty clear by 1962, maybe even in 1954 with the French defeat, that this was strategically impossible.
We've reached the point in Iraq where it's also clear victory is impossible. No American politician will announce, "we cannot win in Iraq" but it's the truth. Refusing to admit this will only result in more dead and maimed U.S. soldiers. What will happen in Iraq once we leave will be ugly (it is already) but I don't see how anybody at this point can look at the last four years of our involvement in Iraq and point to progress or hopeful signs for success.
Vietnam down the sink hole
