Bush Defends Iraq War
George Bush in his speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which included many who have fought in Vietnam, has defended the Iraq war and has drawn a parallel between the bloody wars Americans fought in East Asia (including the World War II & the Vietnam war) to the current US “war on terror” to back his case for maintaining US troops in Iraq.
Bush claims that there was a catastrophe in south-east Asia after US forces left Vietnam and something similar could happen in the Middle East if they withdraw their troops. This has sparked a controversy among various sections including the media who were critical of his comparison.
The speech was an attempt by Bush to rally support for maintaining as many as 170,000 US troops in Iraq well into next year before the top military and civilian officials report to Congress next month on the progress of the war and Iraq’s political progress.
Bush said, “There are many differences between the wars we fought in the Far East and the war on terror we’re fighting today. But one important similarity is at their core they’re ideological struggles. The militarists of Japan and the communists in Korea and Vietnam were driven by a merciless vision for the proper ordering of humanity.
They killed Americans because we stood in the way of their attempt to force their ideology on others. Today, the names and places have changed, but the fundamental character of the struggle has not changed. Like our enemies in the past, the terrorists who wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan and other places seek to spread a political vision of their own – a harsh plan for life that crushes freedom, tolerance, and dissent.
“Like our enemies in the past, they kill Americans because we stand in their way of imposing this ideology across a vital region of the world. This enemy is dangerous; this enemy is determined; and this enemy will be defeated.
We’re still in the early hours of the current ideological struggle, but we do know how the others ended – and that knowledge helps guide our efforts today. The ideals and interests that led America to help the Japanese turn defeat into democracy are the same that lead us to remain engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
Read full speech of George Bush
Vietnam Reaction
But people in Vietnam, where opposition to the Iraq War is strong, said that Bush had drawn the wrong conclusions from the Southeast Asian conflict. “Doesn’t he realize that if the U.S. had stayed in Vietnam longer, they would have killed more people?” said Vu Huy Trieu of Hanoi, a veteran who fought against the U.S. troops in Vietnam. “Nobody regrets that the Vietnam War wasn’t prolonged except Bush.”
If the Iraq War isn’t a barbaric act, what is then? If Bush withdraws his troop from Iraq, violence may escalate in the short term, but the situation will eventually stabilse. More than 3,700 US troops have died in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion and Bush has failed to admit that the purpose has not been accomplished.
Let the Iraqis determine their own fate. US invasion of Iraq has created far more terrorists than anything else. Bush has completely distorted the facts and just defended his actions.
Reactions to Bush’s speech on Iraq War
Resources:
Bush accused of twisting history over Iraq, Asia war links
We must not withdraw as we did from Vietnam, says Bush
The redemption of the Vietnam War?
Bush whips up a storm over ‘surge’
Historians Question Bush’s Reading of Lessons of Vietnam War for Iraq
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