Justin's Thursday Political News 08.23.07

Posted by Justin Baragona on 08.23.2007

Bush made a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars on Wednesday and made comparisons between Vietnam and Iraq. Why the hell would he do that? I wrote a whole column about it, and even I'm not sure why!

Welcome to another edition of Justin's Thursday Political News. Apologies in advance are in order, as this will be a short column today. Life and work have interfered, as I've been very busy at work the past two days and I'm closing on a refinance of my house at the same time. Therefore, time has been at a premium. However, I was able to get a small morsel of goodness cobbled together for you loyal readers. Time's a wasting, so on with the one story for this week.


Bush made the following comment on Wednesday in a speech in Kansas City regarding the Vietnam War and its impact on our military situation today:


"Here at home, some can argue our withdrawal from Vietnam carried no price to American credibility, but the terrorists see things differently."



It looks like Bush is stating now that us getting out of Vietnam (after many, many years) was a mistake, from the statements he made in his speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. "Whatever your position in that debate, 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,' " the president said. The President also stated that by us withdrawing from Vietnam that today's terrorists were emboldened by what they feel is a lack of U.S. credibility. "Here at home, some can argue our withdrawal from Vietnam carried no price to American credibility, but the terrorists see things differently," Bush said. E also pointed to remarks that Osama bin Laden made where he said that the American people would rise against Iraq War much as they did in the past with the Vietnam War. Therefore, from what I can tell, the President is stating that nobody should be opposed to this war because it only helps the terrorists. He's possibly even equating those who were opposed to the Vietnam War as helping the terrorists of today.

Further on in the speech, Bush also tried to equate World War II with the Iraq War, mainly our war with Japan. He also threw Korea in the mix as well. "The militarists of Japan and the Communists in Korea and Vietnam were driven by a merciless vision for the proper ordering of humanity. They killed Americans because we stood in the way of their attempt to force this ideology on others." Bush also tried to point to the rebuilding of Japan as reason enough for us to stay the course in Iraq. "In the aftermath of Japan's surrender, many thought it naive to help the Japanese transform themselves into a democracy. Then, as now, the critics argued that some people were simply not fit for freedom," Bush said. "Today, in defiance of the critics, Japan ... stands as one of the world's great free societies." Bush made his speech in the shadow of the impending progress report on Iraq by Gen. David Patreus. That report will be out in the coming weeks and is being closely watched by Republicans who are wary of more bad news coming from Iraq, especially after the troop surge. If I were them, I wouldn't worry too much, as the White House is involved with the writing of the report. This is not lost on the American people, apparently. A recent CNN poll showed that 53 percent of Americans do not trust the general to be truthful or accurate about Iraq. The same poll showed that 64 percent oppose the war and that 72 percent will not change their opinion about the war even if the report shows progress is being made.

Bush's speech did bring some opinions out from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Regarding Bush's comparisons between Vietnam and Iraq, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) had this to say: "America lost the war in Vietnam because our troops were trapped in a distant country we did not understand supporting a government that lacked sufficient legitimacy with its people." Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), who is also making a run for President, had some comments about Vietnam and Bush as well. "It's the president's policies that are pushing us toward another Saigon moment -- with helicopters fleeing the roof of our embassy -- which he says he wants to avoid." Biden also felt that Bush was being naïve in thinking that the Iraqi people will get behind and support one central government in Iraq and that will bring about peace. "There's no trust within the Iraqi government; no trust of the government by the Iraqi people; no capacity of that government to deliver security or services; and no prospect that it will build that trust or capacity any time soon," Biden said. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) stated that there are many Democrats in Congress that have witnessed the progress happening in Iraq and are going against their leaders in trumpeting the success. "Many rank-and-file Democrats have seen this progress firsthand and are now acknowledging the successes of a strategy they've repeatedly opposed," Boehner said in a statement. "But Democratic leaders, deeply invested in losing the war, would rather move the goalposts and claim that a precipitous withdrawal is the right approach despite the overwhelming evidence of significant progress."

In the end, I'm not sure what Bush is hoping to accomplish by invoking the Vietnam War in his speech. One would think that if he is stating that he has learned from history in regards to Vietnam, how the fuck did we end up in the situation we are in Iraq to begin with? Shouldn't we have known from our mistakes in Vietnam to avoid getting into a similar situation? Much like Bush's recent speeches trying to drum up support for this hugely unpopular war, I don't think he quite understands the overall message he is giving. He is unbelievably shortsighted with his statements and doesn't realize that he is going against much of what he stated in the run up and the onset of the war. Vietnam is not looked at very fondly by most Americans. The President bringing it up is not going to help him rally Americans around his cause. While you could state that he is trying to appeal to our humane instincts by stating that mass killings will happen in Iraq much the same way as they did in Vietnam after we left, the fact is that people were sick of the war back then and they are sick to death of this war now. I would think that most Americans are just sad to know that we needlessly fucked up a situation in Vietnam in the '60s and '70s and failed to learn the lesson 30+ years later. Now, we are at the same point we were during the Nixon days. A President who thinks he is above the constitution leading a country through a highly unpopular war that cannot be won. And who is to blame: the damn liberals and Democrats who oppose the war, for not letting it us win.



That is going to do it for me this week. Next week I should be back with a full sized column. If you are looking for a lengthy and entertaining column to read, why don't you check out the Ugly Un-American. I will be back next week with more news in the realm of politics.