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February 23, 2007

Joseph Farah and the Fat Piglets

Joseph Farah writes today that those who fear Iraq is becoming another Vietnam are "shrill, whiny, ill-informed," "self-fulfilling prophets of doom and gloom," "just plain stupid," or have "sinister motives" – that is, they are "eager to see America … taken down a notch, humbled, defanged, emasculated." Those who most fear repeating our mistakes in Vietnam are, by their fear, going to cause another Vietnam, he says, because they don't understand that it was "their policies of capitulation and appeasement" that actually prompted that disaster to occur.

The enemy, with money and intelligence provided from Moscow and Beijing, knew they could never defeat U.S. troops on the battlefield. Their plan was to drag out the war and win it in the streets of the USA – on college campuses, in the media, with the help of movie stars and other self-loathing Americans, and especially in the Congress of the United States.

It's an argument that I just don't buy. I'm no expert on Vietnam, but I think I know enough to point out one very big difference: we accomplished our mission in Iraq a long time ago when we took down Saddam's regime and brought him to justice. We never really accomplished our mission in Vietnam. It isn't appeasement to say that once the mission has been accomplished, the troops should be brought home. The "whiny" peace activists, who represent the views of the vast majority of the country, by the way, are not lacking in spine or will or love of country. Quite the opposite.

In fact, it looks to me as if it is the spineless right-wingers like Farah who are the capitulators and the appeasers. Cow-towing to a corrupt Administration in order to hold on to their own positions in the right-wing ranks, they lack the spine to do what is right and just in this world. They're perfectly willing to keep feeding our young men and women into the meat grinder for the benefit of an intentionally dragged-out war that simply enriches those fat piglets who suck at the military funding teat. Come to think of it, it seems to me that's what happened in Vietnam, too.

Posted by Becky at February 23, 2007 09:37 AM