A True Parallel between Vietnam, Iraq: Vitriol

[KenH]

"In a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in late August, President Bush invoked the Vietnam analogy with regard to Iraq. The way he used that analogy was strained, but there is one disturbing parallel with the Vietnam era that he should have mentioned. At that time as well, the policy debate turned vicious and personal, generating far more heat than light. The rival positions became portrayed as caricatures: fascist baby burners vs. dirty hippie communist sympathizers. We are seeing a similar degeneration of the debate on Iraq today.

That is more than a little disappointing. America should be a sufficiently mature democracy that difficult foreign policy debates can be conducted in a more constructive manner than having dueling accusations of treason and war crimes."

- rest of Ted Galen Carpenter's column at www.cato.org:80/pub_display.php?pub_id=8688

 

[hillclimber1]

"In a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in late August, President Bush invoked the Vietnam analogy with regard to Iraq. The way he used that analogy was strained, but there is one disturbing parallel with the Vietnam era that he should have mentioned. At that time as well, the policy debate turned vicious and personal, generating far more heat than light. The rival positions became portrayed as caricatures: fascist baby burners vs. dirty hippie communist sympathizers. We are seeing a similar degeneration of the debate on Iraq today.

That is more than a little disappointing. America should be a sufficiently mature democracy that difficult foreign policy debates can be conducted in a more constructive manner than having dueling accusations of treason and war crimes."

- rest of Ted Galen Carpenter's column at www.cato.org:80/pub_display.php?pub_id=8688

It gained great ground with GW's win in '00'. The Dem's, owners of Congress, couldn't abide their defeat, and the radical left bloggers gained control of the party, demanding non-stop vitriol. Nothing this President has done has been approved by the left.

 

[church mouse guy]

A minor fund-raising letter....

A minor fund-raising letter is hardly much of an issue. You should see the names that Hugo Chavez calls the President of the USA--too filthy for print.

Viet Nam was different in that fact of the draft caused endless street demonstations among mostly leftist students. Once the draft was ended most of the demonstrations ended also. In spite of the best efforts of the leftists nowadays, they have been unable to have newsworthy street meetings against the war in Iraq. They have had to rely on the likes of Dennis Kucinich, who visited Syria and made nice to them shortly before it was published that Israel bombed Syria to destroy amunition dumps and shortly before it was published that Syria, too, seeks the atomic bomb. A poor diplomat, Kucinich spoke to the Syrians about Jewish principles. If they made nice to Kuchinch it probably was because of the tens of thousands of American troops in Iraq.

American politics has always been dirty and name-calling, as far as I can tell. The Democrats nowadays no longer have the high ground intellectually because they have stood for bigger government to solve all problems and they have a foreign policy that calls for a weak military and increased reliance on diplomacy and the UN.

Viet Nam was fought under rules of engagement whereby the enemy was not fully attacked. Viet Nam is more like Korea in that the Korean war did not spill over into the communist staging areas in Manchuria just as Viet Nam did not spill over into Cambodia and Laos.

The Democrats suffered a big political defeat this week with Bush's speech and the testimony of our military before Congress. The Democrats look increasingly petty.

 

[just-want-peace]

That is more than a little disappointing. America should be a sufficiently mature democracy that difficult foreign policy debates can be conducted in a more constructive manner than having dueling accusations of treason and war crimes."

Considering that this "mature democracy" has de-volved into a nanny state, where all (most anyway) have rights w/o the accompaning responsibilities, the state of the society is to be expected!

 

[carpro]

As during the Vietnam era, it is the democrats, liberals, and anti-war factions that become the most viscious.

 

[Dan V.]

It gained great ground with GW's win in '00'. The Dem's, owners of Congress, couldn't abide their defeat, and the radical left bloggers gained control of the party, demanding non-stop vitriol. Nothing this President has done has been approved by the left.

Our President's idea that we should export democracy to Moslem nations so the sons of Ishmael can freely worship allah hasn't helped our cause too much.

God has not promised to bless efforts like this.

Dan V.