Iraq and Lessons from Vietnam
I read this article, and while it’s long, it’s fascinating. http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20051101faessay84604/melvin-r-laird/iraq-learning-the-lessons-of-vietnam.html
The man who wrote it was Nixon’s first Sec of Defense, and from what I understand, is villified in the current military as a weak and cowardly man. Of course, many of the brass who trumpet this opinion where low ranking grunts when Laird was in power, so their perspective might be different.
I found the article very interesting. Sec. Laird presents a pretty reasoned argument, although there was some standard GOP spin in there about "things on the ground are better than what the press says", etc etc. But I do like having specific goals that result in drawdowns of troop levels. I also agree with keeping those goals top secret. Let the chairmen of the committees know, but otherwise, it’s need-to-know only. Throw in Hillary’s test of "Our patience is not limited….if you aren’t even TRYING to help yourself, we will wash our hands of you" and I think you have a sound plan.
When Saddam conquered Kuwait, and we went into free Kuwait, we had every justification in the world to overthrow the regime at that moment. It’s like a child…you have to punish them pretty close to the infraction, or you lose your chance. If the standard is you can be invaded for things you did decades ago, then we could be invaded for Jim Crow laws…or what we did to the Native Americans in the 19th century. I mean, come on! Bush the Father made a huge mistake by not driving a sword through Saddam’s heart in 1991 when he had a chance and was justified in doing so. That’s what pisses me off about this whole Iraq mess now…it’s all tied into Bush and his daddy and vengeance. Yes, we get a good result that Saddam is gone…and IF Iraq can muster an Islamic democracy, then that’s a very good thing. But we’re going about it like bumbling idiots….and about 14 yrs later than we should have done it.
