Posted by
The Secular Conservative on Wednesday, November 15, 2006 9:50:06 PM
The Democrats are creating their own self-fulfilling prophecy with the Iraq war. They have tried so hard to draw comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam and, with their recent victory, have succeeded. But perhaps not in the way they intended.
My generation (Gen X) has a couple of clear notions of Vietnam. We were born after the war and experienced none of the protests and political turmoil. When I think of Vietnam, I think of defeat. Our first military defeat. A defeat that was caused by a lack of political will.
That's what we're experiencing now. If we lose the war on terrorism -- and in particular the war in Iraq -- it won't be because we don't have the military strength, the advanced technology, or enough troops. It will be because we have lost the will to win and because our civilian leaders will interfere with the job of the military, inserting political decision-making into the process of crushing our enemies.
When the Democrats first said it, it was because they believed or hoped that Iraq was a quagmire. But with their constant rhetoric (supported by a fawning media machine), they have undermined support for the military and our mission to defeat those who would kill us. So the Democrats' political tactics have had actual consequences by undermining the will of the political class, the media, and the American people.
When I was taught about Vietnam, what I took away was that wars cannot be fought by politicians and civilians. Political leaders should not make military decisions; the military should be given an objective and allowed to accomplish that objective. We have not learned the lessons of Vietnam.
-tsc