BUSH AND VIETNAM

by RAY FLEMING
PRESIDENT Bush has always studiously avoided any comparison between Iraq and Vietnam.
Until now. In a rare one-on-one interview on ABC News on Wednesday evening he was asked whether he accepted the parallel drawn by the New York Times between the Viet Cong's Tet offensive in 1968 and the heightening insurgency in Iraq. He answered that the comparison “could be right” but went on to put all the blame for the current situation in Iraq on al-Qaeda, saying that: “They are trying to not only kill American troops, but they're trying to foment sectarian violence”. The Tet offensive showed the strength of the Viet Cong's resistance to America's involvement in Vietnam and it was a significant factor in President Lyndon Johnson's decision not to seek a second term of office. Mr Bush no longer has the option of such a course but his readiness to see the connection between Vietnam and Iraq is a distinct shift in his public posture on Iraq. Indeed, the transcript of the interview conveys a sense of a chastened President willing to soften his stance even with difficult mid-term elections, only one month away. In criticising the Democrats for calling for the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq he said: “It's not questioning their patriotism. I think it's questioning their judgement.” And he concluded that he could not imagine all US troops being withdrawn from Iraq before the end of his presidency.”