George Bush Still Doesn't Get It!

Yesterday's speech by the President that compared a withdrawal from Iraq to the ending of the Vietnam War demonstrates that he hasn't a clue of what's going on. The South Vietnamese government fell not because American troops had left (as agreed upon in a peace deal) but because the South Vietnamese government was corrupt and incompetent and had failed to command the loyalty of its people -- in that there is a good analogy to the current situation. But if I hear the President correctly we should have remained in Vietnam indefinitely -- and thus we must remain in Iraq indefinitely.

He is wrong about the idea we should have stayed in Vietnam, and even more wrong about the current situation. It's possible we could have stayed longer in Southeast Asia -- we had a draft that allowed the government to replenish the troops regularly. In the current situation we don't have such a thing and right now our troops are spread increasingly thin and are serving increasingly longer stays. If GW wants to extend the surge and expand the presence of our troops there is only one way to do it -- he has to reintroduce the draft. But such a step is a nonstarter because it would counter to his belief that this war should simply be a minor inconvenience to the American people. That idea has long since lost its credibility as is seen in the increasing number of young Americans losing their lives in an ill-conceived and poorly planned war.

That there are people seriously considering expanding this to Iran is asinine. We're already fighting in Afghanistan (6 years on) and Iraq. To expand this conflagration will simply lead to more American deaths without accomplishing anything but further inflame the Islamic World.

It's no wonder that sane Republicans such as John Warner are saying it's time to come home. It's only George and Dick and others who found ways of evading Vietnam who continue the go, go war rhetoric.

As a follower of Jesus, my discomfort with this war is only increased. And that fellow believers are among the strongest supporters of this effort is simply mind - boggling. Let's build bridges to peace rather than tear them down.