Vietnam, Iraq, and "The Fog of War"

[WindRavenX]

"The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara" is a remarkable documentary I saw when it first came out in 2004, a year after we started our illegal invasion of Iraq. The movie hit a lot of raw nerves for comparing the Iraqi war with the Vietnam war; this was still when comparisons between the two conflicts was often shot down.

Nearly 3 years later, after the announcement of the "surge", I re watched this documentary and found it to be even more prophetic and painful to watch.

The mistakes we made in the past keep getting made. With the same results. This troop escalation is nothing short of another twisted scene from Vietnam and I think that Iraq and Vietnam are beginning to look an awful lot alike.

For anyone interested, here's a link to Amazon for the DVD:

http://www.amazon.com/Fog-War-Eleven-Lessons-McNamara/dp/B0001L3LUE/sr=8-1/qid=1168585501/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-0579841-2666467?ie=UTF8&s=dvd

Now, my question is this: Is it now fair to compare Iraq with Vietnam? To me, I don't see how they could not, particularly because of the nature of our latest "goals" in the country-- to quell uprisings in civilian areas. To build massive "embassies" (courtesy of our buddies at Halliburton). To try to wipe out the past symbolically by killing Saddam. Iraq is being invaded and trying to be completely subjugated for a political ideology that is almost entirely created. In Vietnam it was the threat of communism. In Iraq, it was/is the threat of "terrorism". Both are un winnable. Both are set up so the war will not end.

Is it the same? Not 100%, but I think it's not debatable that we've allowed the same madmen in Washington to make the same mistakes in our name.