Iraq; the Vietnam of This Generation?

So President Bush sees that there are comparisons between the current Iraq War and the war in Vietnam. I think the obvious question then is, does he know anything about the Vietnam War? Does he know that the Vietnam War was the longest military conflict in U.S. history? Does he realize that the hostilities in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia claimed the lives of more than 58,000 Americans and another 304,000 wounded? Most importantly does he realize that the American government lacked a credible plan for winning and that despite superior U.S. firepower and technology the North Vietnamese forces were successful in fighting a protracted, guerilla-style conflict?

Pres. Bush compares these two wars because he’s trying to make the point that, “we must stay the course”, in Iraq, but personally I think the comparison shows the exact opposite. We stayed the course in Vietnam for 14 years (the first U.S. servicemen were killed in 1959), and through four presidencies. We poured more and more troops and equipment into Vietnam and while we held our own we were by no means winning the war. (which by the way a Republican, Nixon, pulled us out of) I know it’s a hard thing for a lot of Americans to swallow, but simply having a superior military does not guarantee victory in every type of war no matter how long you stay the course. If it did, then America would not exist in the first place since our American Revolution was fought against one of the best equipped, largest, best trained military forces in the world (at the time). We won our Revolution because we used guerilla tactics and we were fighting on our own soil not only for freedom, but for our very homes and families. History is full of examples of great militaries who could not win when faced with fighting smaller, guerilla forces on their own turf.

Can we hold our own in Iraq? I’m sure we can, but the question becomes can we win when we’re fighting in a country where the majority of the people see us as occupiers and don’t want us there and if we can’t “win” what price will we pay for continuing a futile effort? If we had left Vietnam in 1970 instead of 73’ how many American lives would have been saved and would it have made any difference to the overall outcome? I believe these are the questions President Bush should be asking himself when he compares Iraq to Vietnam.

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."
- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)