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Iraq is Vietnam-and You'd Better Believe It »

Posted by: populist 2 years, 10 months ago

Nothing destroys troop morale faster than being in a war you know is pointless. As the situation continues to deteriorate in Iraq, anti-American feelings will increase. Cursed for staying, we will now be cursed for leaving. Iraq will become an ever more dangerous place for any American to be.

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populist

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Comments: 458
  • Avg rating: (+4/-0 4)populist
    populist
    Dec. 19, 2006, 11:26 p.m.

    The key here is that the war is pointless - unconstitutional - and entirely ruinous. The time to get out is now.

    15 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+4/-0 4)Illuminate
    Illuminate
    Dec. 19, 2006, 11:33 p.m.

    The key is that its the same o same o- does the author say its unconstitutional??

    The point I disagree with as retired Military is the only thing worse than a pointless war is an apathetic or hateful US Public that blames (allegations) the soldier, too (and I've heard it starting already - dont uphold the constitution, killers, torturers, etc) and the Impeach, jail or worse the current Admin (on allegations) without due process (seeing that alot on the boards recently, too)

    51 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+0/-0 0)bubba2
    bubba2
    Dec. 20, 2006, 12:09 a.m.

    Does a war have to be 'unconstitutional' to be wrong or to be stopped?

    The Iraq war was based on lies - the Bush administration lied to Congress and to the American people about the reasons to invade. Iraq was NO threat to America or to anyone else. Bush has violated our Constution and that IS unconstituational and is grounds for impeachment.

    Where is Osama? Is the Bush administration looking for him? HE is responsible for 9/11 and for 21st century terrorism! But Bush "doesn't think much about him any more".

    It is a myth that anyone against the war blames the soldiers! That is vitriolic spin spewed out by the likes of FOX News and the white house. EVERYONE I know that is against the war is FOR the troops! They ALL know that all fault for this war is with Bush and his cronies and NOT with the military. When the military and the CIA have TRIED to tell Bush the REAL story of the situation in Iraq, they are demoted or fired!

    24 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+3/-0 3)bubba2
    bubba2
    Dec. 20, 2006, 12:11 a.m.

    How many more innocent people will die, how many more days and weeks and months will Iraqi schools be closed and electricity be off and water be unclean, how much more DEBT will we rack up with China, Taiwan, and Japan for this so-called war, and how fed up do the American people have to get to put a STOP to the madness of our 'occupation' of Iraq??

    17 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+0/-0 0)not2needy
    not2needy
    Dec. 20, 2006, 12:38 a.m.

    My husband is a Nam vet, he said the day they deployed the first troops that this would end up being another Vietnam. He was right, i knew it then.

    Such a shame, lives lost for nothing more than Bush's ego, among other things.

    1 Reply

  • Avg rating: (+3/-0 3)aquarius448
    aquarius448
    Dec. 20, 2006, 12:41 a.m.

    History repeats itself.I will always listen to vets and their stories and insight because they have been places that I cannot dare to imagine myself in. They are my heroes and guardians and I can never forget their contributions to the safety of my family and friends. (King George commands and they obey)...you can substitute King George for whatever is more appropriate.

    Now as far as politiians are concerned...Please ...give me a break. I have been a card carrying,dedicated member of a political party for 20 years. I have been at the highest level of local federal politics for many years. After all that time ...I came to the bone rattling conclusion that it was all an illusion.

    ..Politics is a filthy game played by the elite and priviledged. Their tools are the poor and underpriviledged. Their shield is righteousness...and when all else fails BS baffles brains.

    2 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+9/-0 9)ind06
    ind06
    Dec. 20, 2006, 1:55 a.m.

    I've felt the Iraq/Vietnam corollary to be a fact for about two years now. I've said so to my friends, even gotten in a few heated arguments. I've shouted it at various talking heads on several 24 Hour news networks.

    So why is having it described to me, clearly, logically, point by point such a depressing thing?

    I think it's the relentlesness of the whole thing, the intractable march toward doom that Iraq has become.

    The absolute and certain knowledge that this won't end well for anyone.

    4 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+0/-0 0)Amazing1
    Amazing1
    Dec. 20, 2006, 8:44 a.m.

    While we do not have the massive protests that were held during the Viet Nam debacle, I submit that there are many more protests than the media bothers to cover.

    4 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+0/-0 0)summer6975
    summer6975
    Dec. 20, 2006, 9:11 a.m.

    Having been to Iraq, but too young to know anything about vietnam, ive got to say that i found this story very interesting. we are in a needless war, out people are dying, their people are dying. No human life is worth...whatever reason we are there. because at this point i dont think anyone knows.

    3 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+8/-0 8)B737Tech
    B737Tech
    Dec. 20, 2006, 10:17 a.m.

    Illuminate

    Sorry not to be confrontational but have I missed something somewhere, how does this war rack up debt to China, Taiwan and Japan??

    Bush has been selling our country off to help pay for his idiocy of invading Iraq & for the 4 (so far) tax cuts for the rich.

    13 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+2/-0 2)ETproductions
    ETproductions
    Dec. 20, 2006, 11:53 a.m.

    There is one important parallel to Vietnam that his author doesn't mention. From the early days of the Johnson buildup in 1964 until the final debacle in 1975, one after another administration, both Democratic and Republican, told us that we absolutely HAD to win in Vietnam. The consequences of defeat, we were told, would be the end of the Western democracies. Communism would topple one country after the next till they finally stood on the shores of the Potomac.

    The Pentagon echoed this message. One after another general was trotted out on TV to describe the military horrors that would unfold if we gave in to the "cut and run" camp.

    Only now, with 20/20 hindsight, do we know that all that was wrong. Perhaps some said it believing it. Perhaps others said it knowing at the time that it was hogwash, but usefully hogwash that could inspire terror in the public and be used for political gain.

    Yes, there are very real parallels with Vietnam.

    23 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+0/-0 0)RevolutionPlease
    RevolutionPlease
    Dec. 20, 2006, 11:56 a.m.

    I agree with all the comments that this war is undeniably similar to the Viet Nam war except for one unmentioned extreme aspect: the draft.

    I think that if there was a draft instated for the war in Iraq, we would see protesters flooding the streets of Washington. Unfortunately in America the majority of people don't react or take action unless directly affected (would Dems be in power if gas prices were at $1.00?).

    So my question is this - I've heard it whispered here and there that this "fight for us or go to jail" tactic could possibly be put into effect, but is there any concrete evidence that it's being realistically considered?

    6 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+6/-0 6)harriermech
    harriermech
    Dec. 20, 2006, 12:02 p.m.

    I love to see how many Monday morning quarterbacks we have on here. This admin did not lie about the reasons for going to Iraq. Iraq was given a deadline by the UN and Saddam did not comply. Congress was given the same intel and believed just like the rest of the World that Saddam was a threat and worth the risk. Even though we have not found any WMDs does not negate the fact that he was a threat and should have been dealt with accordingly.

    I don't think this war is any were near a Vietnam just the opposite. Saddam is in jail and about to be hung for his crimes. The Iraqis have a new government yes it has flaws but so did ours when we first started out. It's a good thing these people that are complaing on here was not around back then. We might still be part of England. War suck and it suck that our men and women are dying over there but that is part of war.

    One more thing all of you say you support the troops and not the war is full of crap. Can't have it both ways.

    11 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+0/-0 0)Bobcat6
    Bobcat6
    Dec. 20, 2006, 12:04 p.m.

    Iraq may be another Vietnam. Back then we had brave fighting soldiers and gutless politicians. Today we have brave fighting soldiers, gutless democratic politicians w/their gutless and elitist type supporters.

    3 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+2/-0 2)rrrtx
    rrrtx
    Dec. 20, 2006, 1:51 p.m.

    How is the war being escalated?

    6 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+8/-0 8)clancyjavaux
    clancyjavaux
    Dec. 20, 2006, 1:39 p.m.

    Our government keeps playing up how so many Iraqui people voted in their election, couldn't we just let them vote on whether they want the US troups there or not? I am fairly certain they would vote NO, which would let the US save face about pulling out, as it would be the Iraqui decision. It is their country, something some seem to have forgotten.

    2 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+1/-0 1)abntv
    abntv
    Dec. 20, 2006, 1:48 p.m.

    There is no comparison here with Viet Nam..not politically or militarily. Viet Nam failed because of political interference. The Viet Nam war was run as a political war not a military war. Iraq is not the same. In addition in Viet Nam the entire country was a battlefield and almost entirely involving the North Vietnamese. In Iraq there are only small pockets of figthing that get 99% of the news coverage. It is the religious factions in Iraq that are causing the problems now. The author of this article has put himself off to be some kind of expert on warfare when he openly admits to being an advisor and not even a military advisor. I did not consider this article to have any informational value. It was an opinion on two wars by someone that is obviously not qualified.

    4 Replies

  • Avg rating: (+1/-0 1)betruthful
    betruthful
    Dec. 20, 2006, 4:03 p.m.

    Atta boy ike! lets get alot more killed so the ones already killed are not for nothing and then more so they are not for nothing-more and more and more. How old are you because you obviously know nothing about V.N. BTW the neos said we would be greeted as liberators, the Iraqi oil would pay the cost and it would only take a few months.Thats just a few examples. As long as Bush and Haliburton share their money with you I can understand why you continue to support them-they do share, don't they?

    • Avg rating: (+0/-0 0)jehovahjones
      jehovahjones
      Dec. 20, 2006, 4:40 p.m.

      The joke is you. When, exactly, was the war "won"?

      The person "******" on the troops is you: expecting them to play a political game that's only about PR and money. Shame on you.

      • Avg rating: (+13/-0 13)Taganan
        Taganan
        Dec. 20, 2006, 2:21 p.m.

        The Iraqi Kurds like us there and there are no insurgents in their part of the country that they can't handle themselves. All the fighting is in a small part of Iraq, which includes the capital, where all the media people are based. Then the media has a template for what is or is not news. If it doesn't fit the template, it's not news. Anything good doesn't fit the template.

        Where were the calls for impeachment or trials of politicians in the Vietnam era? What came of them? It was much more obvious that the politicians were preventing victory and dragging it on so they could profit from the war. Nothing happened, they were Democrats, darlings of the Left, sapping the strength of the nation and endowing us with a permanent anti-war complex that was to ensure Communist domination. Reagan stopped that.

        4 Replies

      • Avg rating: (+1/-0 1)edromar2
        edromar2
        Dec. 20, 2006, 2:23 p.m.

        Thats why we oughta get the hell out.

        There Must Be 50 Ways To Leave Iraqis

        to be sung to Paul Simon's 50 ways to leave....

        "It grieves me so to see them in such pain.

        I wish there was something we could do

        To make them smile again,

        And help them in their struggle to be free.

        The problem is all inside your heads," I said in glee.

        "The answer is easy if you take it logically.

        There must be fifty ways to leave Iraqis!

        It's really not my habit to intrude.

        Furthermore, I hope meaning won't be lost or misconstrued.

        But I'll assert myself at the risk of being rude:

        There must be fifty ways to leave Iraqis."

        Just say: "You're out of your gourd, George.

        Make a new plan, man. Just slip from the front, runt.

        You don't need to be coy, boy. Just leave Iraqis.

        Hop on the plane, Jane. You don't need to discuss much.

        Just ship out to sea, Candi, And let them live free.

        For there must be fifty ways to leave Iraqis"

        • Avg rating: (+1/-0 1)edromar2
          edromar2
          Dec. 20, 2006, 2:24 p.m.

          "Revise your old plan, man. You don't need a new ploy, boy.

          Get on the stick, Dick; just let them live free!

          You don't need to discuss much. Bug out on a train, Jane,

          And let them live free. It grieves us so to see them in such pain.

          And there is something we can do to make them smile again.

          Make a new plan, man. You don't need a new toy, boy

          Just slip out the gorge, George. Just let them live free!

          You act like a prick, Dick. You don't need to discuss much

          Fly off in a plane, Jane, And let them live free.

          • Avg rating: (+0/-0 0)edromar2
            edromar2
            Dec. 20, 2006, 2:26 p.m.

            "I'll repeat myself at the risk of being crude:

            "Revise your old plan, man. You don't need a new ploy, boy.

            Get on the stick, Dick; just let them live free!

            You don't need to discuss much. Bug out on a train, Jane,

            And let them live free. It grieves us so to see them in such pain.

            And there is something we can do to make them smile again.

            Make a new plan, man. You don't need a new toy, boy

            Just slip out the gorge, George. Just let them live free!

            You act like a prick, Dick. You don't need to discuss much

            Fly off in a plane, Jane, And let them live free.

            Sorry, I missed a line.

            • Avg rating: (+7/-1 6)2sidestoeverything
              2sidestoeverything
              Dec. 20, 2006, 2:36 p.m.

              Why hasn't this made the front page yet?

              • Avg rating: (+0/-0 0)wttychrm1
                wttychrm1
                Dec. 20, 2006, 3:01 p.m.

                This was an EXCELLENT article and conveyed my thoughts perfectly. Thank you.

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