Iraq is Iraq, Vietnam is Vietnam

The urge to try to define one by the other is understandable. I have done this in the past, and no doubt will do so again. Vietnam, it's mistakes and errors echo in the soul of our nation. At times events in Iraq touch upon those echoes and make the past and the present seem tied.

But, Iraq is now, and Vietnam is past.

The lesions of Vietnam can not be directly applied to Iraq, and some of the voices on the left are trying to leave the comparisons behind.

I dislike the comparisons to Vietnam because, like all allegory and historical analogy, they lack precision and rigor. An inexact analogy can go a long way toward obscuring important details about our current situation, which itself can lead to improper action.

We have to Learn from the past, but we also have to remember that new challenges require new answers and approaches. We must never forget the mistakes and lesions learned in Vietnam, but we must remind ourselves that four decades have passed and similar situations may demand slightly different answers.

Some things do seem to apply; Those calling out 'stay the course' in Vietnam were wrong. Those making that same call today are also wrong. Those shouting 'America, love it or leave it' were wrong, just as those who were chanting 'We don't care'. Changing the path we are on is required, but we must look beyond what was done in the 60s and 70s to find the proper course.