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Friday, November 17, 2006

Bush compares U.S. wars in Vietnam, Iraq

HANOI, Vietnam -

By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer

President Bush, on his first visit to a country where America lost a two-decade-long fight against communism, said Friday the Vietnam War's lesson for today's confounding Iraq conflict is that freedom takes time to trump hatred.

Embracing a former enemy that remains communist but is allowing capitalism to surge, Bush opened a four-day stay here that was fueling an already raging debate over his war policy. Democrats who won control of Congress say last week's elections validate their call for U.S. troops to start coming home soon, while Bush argues — as he did again Friday — for patience with a mission he says can't be ended until Iraq can remain stable on its own...

..."We'll succeed," Bush added, "unless we quit."

In a day of meetings with Vietnamese leaders, the Vietnam-Iraq comparisons gave way to a focus on areas of cooperation. Those include continuing military-to-military links, work on AIDS and bird flu, trade, and cooperation on information about more than 1,300 U.S. military personnel still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War...

The president's welcome by the public was much less enthusiastic than the rock-star treatment afforded President Clinton when he came in 2000. Happy crowds thronged Clinton, who normalized relations with Vietnam.

But Bush encountered a country where many with long memories deeply disapprove of the U.S. invasion of Iraq — even as they yearn for continued economic progress to stamp out still-rampant poverty.

With all traffic halted, many Hanoi residents gaped at his long motorcade from their motorbikes. Other clusters of onlookers gathered before storefronts, a few waving but most merely looking on impassively.

Huynh Tuyet, 71, a North Vietnamese veteran who had his hand blown off fighting the Americans, recalled his own lesson.

"Even though the Americans were more powerful with all their massive weapons, the main factor in war is the people," he said. "The Vietnamese people were very determined. We would not give up. That's why we won."...

to read the complete AP article, follow this link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061117/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_63

MrKen notes that our 'Dear Leader' and the Neocons have learned nothing from the Vietnam War. What can one expect when 'W' is being advised by that architect of American failure, Henry Kissinger. Please refer to my post (10/4) and discussion of Maureen Dowd's excellent NY Times piece: "Dr. Strangelove's second chance'.

And I guess Kissinger also has the ear of Senator John McCain (R-AZ), who wants to send MORE U. S. troops to Iraq.

Mr Ken agrees with Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio); he explains why cutting off funding for the Iraq war is the only way to TRULY protect American troops.

Follow this link to his interview at truthdig.com :

http://www.truthdig.com/interview/item/20061116_kucinich_cut_off_funding/







posted by MrKen45 at 6:00 PM

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