Oh, that president.
The Decider continues to display a stunning ignorance of (or perhaps contempt for) history and common sense, as evidenced by his speech yesterday before a group of veterans. Though the Bushinistas used to go out of their way to avoid comparing Iraq and Vietnam, they've apparently decided to run the other way, using Vietnam as an example of why we can't leave Iraq right away.
"Then as now, people argued that the real problem was America's presence, and if we would just withdraw, the killing would end," Our Beloved President boldly declared. "The world would learn just how costly these misimpressions would be."
Where the hell to start?
First of all, no one--no one--is claiming if America withdraws, the killing magically stops. Team Bush's stunning series of missteps in Iraq have helped create a nice little hell on earth, ramping up ancient tensions and rivalries while simultaneously creating new ones, while also providing a verdant breeding ground for terrorists. No, Mr. President, the killing won't end--you've seen to that.
In fact, he has almost certainly given birth to what he aluded to in his speech--a new Khmer Rouge.
His misunderstanding of what happened in Vietnam is reprehensible and inexcusable, though understandable, given that Henry Kissinger, architect of Nixon's Vietnam policy, is one of Bush's closest advisors, and is always willing to rewrite history in his favor.
It was Kissinger's passive-aggressive strategy towards Vietnam--drawing down troop levels while escalating secret bombing campaigns (Merry Christmas, Cambodia!)--that created the very vacuum in Southest Asia in which Pol Pot thrived. Innocent people were going to die, either by Kissinger's napalm or Pol Pot's machete, but make no mistake, the U.S. was responsible either way.
And so in Iraq. The U.S. can stay or get out, but it doesn't matter. People will still die, and all will remember who gave birth to this situation.
