Which Past War Is Iraq?

Analogies are designed as a shortcut to reality, but as everyone knows, shortcuts often lead elsewhere than their planned destination. So it is with President Bush's attempt to link our current predicament in Iraq and past failures in Vietnam. The analogy, meant as a warning against withdrawal, relies on an abusive rhetoric that evokes the "unmistakable legacy" paid for by "millions of innocent [Vietnamese] citizens." Previously, Bush had used the Vietnam analogy, though less explicitly, to warn against escalation against an enemy that is "never tired, never sated, never content with yesterday's brutality."

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