Welsh Commentary on Bush Comparisons of Iraq to Vietnam

By Barry Welsh

In a news conference today President Bush referenced Vietnam as an example to Iraq. This reminds us that both were horribly mismanaged and weakened American's position in the world community, the difference being Iraq continues with no end in sight.

The President referred to "killing fields"   The "killing fields" were actually in Cambodia and not Viet Nam and the responsibility of the Khmer Rouge, but President Bush  wasn't in Vietnam, so maybe he just didn't know and wasn't trying to not tell the truth.

I prefer to trust those that were in Vietnam, and I prefer to trust the voices of the actual fighters in the Iraq Occupation.  Why do I not trust the President's voice?  Here is what he has said in the recent past:

A generation shaped by Vietnam must remember the lessons of Vietnam: When America uses force in the world, the cause must be just, the goal must be clear and the victory must be overwhelming. [Bush address to RNC convention, 8/4/00]

The Republican presidential front-runner also says he learned "the lesson of Vietnam." "Our nation should be slow to engage troops. But when we do so, we must do so with ferocity. We must not go into a conflict unless we go in committed to win. We can never again ask the military to fight a political war," Bush wrote. [AP, 11/15/99, reporting on Bush's biography A Charge To Keep]

Finally, for years, he maintained Iraq and Vietnam had no similarities. In April 2004, he said:

QUESTION: How do you answer the Vietnam comparison?

BUSH: I think the analogy is false. I also happen to think that analogy sends the wrong message to our troops, and sends the wrong message to the enemy. [From Presidential Debates]

With that, one must ask when hearing President Bush invoke the ghosts of Vietnam, is he trying to send the wrong message to the enemy or is he trying to misdirect the citizens of the United States of America? We have been misdirected enough Mr. President, It is time to head America in the right direction, and that requires change.

Barry Welsh
2008 Democratic Congressional Candidate
Indiana 6th District

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