According to USA Today, President Bush "plans to argue today that a hasty 'retreat' from Iraq would lead to the kinds of bloodbaths that followed U.S. withdrawals from Vietnam and Cambodia in the 1970s." The speech, which was released to the press late yesterday, reads: "One unmistakable legacy of Vietnam is that the price of America's withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens whose agonies would add to our vocabulary new terms like 'boat people,' 're-education camps,' and 'killing fields.' " Read more here.
In the past, Bush has at times seemed to accept the Iraq-Vietnam comparison, as here on ABC News. But at other times he has said, point-blank, "Iraq is not Vietnam."
His latest position seems to be that backing out of Iraq would, in fact, be like backing out of Vietnam. CNN has pointed out that he does sound a lot like President Johnson when he talks about withdrawal:
Lyndon Johnson: "If we quit Vietnam tomorrow, we'll be fighting in Hawaii, and next week we'll have to fight in San Francisco."
Bush: "We are fighting that enemy in Iraq, in Afghanistan today so that we do not meet him again on our own streets, in our own cities."
A Vietnam historian says in the USA Today article that the withdrawal-equals-killing-fields analogy doesn't quite scan. Besides, he says of Bush, "Does he think we should have stayed in Vietnam?"
Seems to us like Bush is right: Vietnam and Iraq have an awful lot in common. And we agree with him that to pull out would be a disaster. But isn't it also true that, as in Vietnam, to not pull out would also be a disaster?
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 8)
1. Lots of people say that Bush is dumb, and lots of people are right. Nothing in Iraq is guaranteed, except more American deaths. Many more. As the world looks on in utter disbelief. This is a foolish, foolish tragedy of the highest order.
michael white at 11:28AM on Aug 22nd 2007
2. To a man of absolutely zero integrity, there is no problem with saying today something that completely contradicts what he said the day before or what he will say tomorrow. To Bush, "truth" is whatever he can sell.
Richter at 11:28AM on Aug 22nd 2007
3. Bush is simply not intelligent enought to be President. He does not have the mental acumen for the job. He is a follower, not a leader. Iraq has turned into another Vietnam; yes, if we leave there will be chaos, but that is precisely what we have there now. Too many Iraqis and too many Americans have paid the ultimate price for a few men's folly.
Lydia E. Dugan at 11:39AM on Aug 22nd 2007
4. so....is this bush's way of saying...we will be leaving iraq like we left vietnam? or is he saying...we should have stayed in vietnam...and that is what we are going to do in iraq?
i hope it is the 1st one...because if the vietnam veterens are still affected to this day with that war....imagine how this iraq war will affect these soldiers in iraq in the years to come?
iamchavira at 11:42AM on Aug 22nd 2007
5. I WWOULD NOT CALL 5 YEARS, 3500 DEAD ,25000 MAIMED SOLDIERS,ALMOST A TRILLION DOLLARS WASTED,I WOULD NOT CALL IT CUT AND RUN.
ENZO SEMENTINI at 11:52AM on Aug 22nd 2007
6. Well it's a red light right there that Bush is even mentioning Vietnam when talking about Iraq.
But I do agree that a hasty withdrawal is not the way to go. Yes, we need to get out of there, but it seems like we can't just pack up and say goodbye, leaving the country in the state of disarray we've established.
I don't have a better solution and perhaps the next president will, but that's too far down the road.
Jonathan at 12:12PM on Aug 22nd 2007
7. I hate to break the news, but Iraq is a completely different place than Vietnam. LOL There may be similarities between the wars (which there usually are with any war), but that doesn't make them EXACTLY the same. There are grounds to disagree with "W", but this is just ridiculous nitpicking.
Mel at 12:27PM on Aug 22nd 2007
8. Suggest y'all watch GOOD MORNING VIETNAM and pay attention to the teletype messages. Bush sounds so much like Johnson & his military advisors!! We're supposed to LEARN from history...guess Bush missed that history class.
Vicki Stewart at 12:41PM on Aug 22nd 2007
9. Iraq will be like Vietnam but it is nothing
like the Vietnam war. In Vietnam we suffered
many times the casualties we have in the same
time period in Iraq.
In Vietnam we took ground and had to keep on
retaking it. In Iraq we learned taking ground
once was a better policy.
I remember when we left Vietnam as one who was
there and had some Vietnamese friends who were
left to be killed and tortured because they
were friendly to Americans.
If we pull out too fast we will see another
Vietnam hasty retreat with Iraqi's hanging on
the skids of choppers as we leave.
Followed by the killing of our Iraqi friends
we leave there for Bin Ladin and his as they
dance in the street.
The same thing we seen after Vietnam and I
for one do not want the smell of their blood
in my nose.
Seems the Hard left of the Democratic Party
has ice in their vains not caring who gets
killed or how many as long as they can get
back into the white house.
The left was fine with the Vietnam war untill
Nixon got into office. Then they went into
their anti war rant just like now and were
responsible for all the deaths in the killing
fields of Cambodia. Hanoi Jane should be
proud of all those who were killed to stop
the killing of many times less.
William Ehlert at 1:30PM on Aug 22nd 2007
10. We all know Bush is a moron; we also know he's completely incompetent. In my view, though, he's a war criminal and he should be charged, tried, and convicted ASAP!!
AlanLantzer at 1:42PM on Aug 22nd 2007
11. In response: I do not believe that there is a comparison; i.e. vietnam to iraq... in vietnam at least you know most of your enemy's identities as opposed to IRAQ where a friend today can be your foe at night planning commit suicide to do harm to anyone in close proximity..regardless..
G. S. De Jesus at 1:43PM on Aug 22nd 2007
12. Of course the neocons would have had us stay in Vietnam...I guess 58,000 dead American soliders wasn't enough for them.
Some of those same neocons were the ones who made damn sure their sons did not fight in Vietnam - got them in the National Guard, college deferments, you name it. Those with clout stayed out.
David S. at 1:49PM on Aug 22nd 2007
13. One can only wonder which way the wind will blow for Bush and his analogies tomorrow. Iraq and Vietnam have much more in common than not. The truth of the matter is we can't reestablish the nation state of Iraq when the people themselves don't have the will to do so as one nation state. I say let the Shiites and the Kurds and the Sunnis fight it out for domination.
We've done what we can militarily. Its time for these people to do what they can politically. That was the risk Bush took by jumping into preemptive war. Therefore, the risk WE TOOK BY FOLLOWING HIM THERE. There's no reason why we have to stay there forever. There's no reason why we owe them any more American lives, other than the fact we went half assed into Iraq, when it should have been Afghanistan all the way!
Suzanne at 1:50PM on Aug 22nd 2007
14. What does Bush know of Vietnam? He couldn't even attend his National Guard meetings. How did we ever end up with an AWOL, drug addicted loser for a president?....maybe the corporate press sold him to us!
Rick at 1:53PM on Aug 22nd 2007
15. 8. ""I hate to break the news, but Iraq is a completely different place than Vietnam. LOL There may be similarities between the wars (which there usually are with any war), but that doesn't make them EXACTLY the same. There are grounds to disagree with "W", but this is just ridiculous nitpicking.""Mel at 12:27 Aug 22nd 2007-------------------------I hate to break the news to you ,but GEORGE WALKER BUSH compared IRAQ to Vietnam.So is Georgie-Porgie nit-picking his OWN words??No wonder,George is able to con.His supporters are FUNCTIONALLY illiterate,(like you...Mel)
Mark Ajamu at 1:59PM on Aug 22nd 2007