Let's have a video introduction to this one.
Iraq Pullout Would Lead To Bloodbath, Bush Warns
Democratic Leader Reid Says War Is Already Lost
By Peter Baker and Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, April 20, 2007; A03
TIPP CITY, Ohio, April 19 -- President Bush warned Thursday that pulling out of Iraq too soon would trigger a bloodbath akin to that of the Cambodian killing fields of the 1970s, while Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid declared that it is too late to stay because the war has already been lost.
On a day that reverberated with echoes of the Vietnam War era, Bush and Reid (D-Nev.) engaged in a long-distance debate over the lessons of history and the fate of the latest overseas war as part of a struggle over $100 billion in funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Reid cast Iraq as another Vietnam and Bush as another Lyndon B. Johnson, while the president described dire consequences if the past repeats itself.
"I want to remind you that after Vietnam, after we left, millions of people lost their life," Bush said here when an audience member asked about comparisons between Vietnam and Iraq. "The Khmer Rouge, for example, in Cambodia. And my concern is there would be a parallel. . . . The same thing would happen. There would be the slaughter of a lot of innocent life. The difference, of course, is that this time around, the enemy wouldn't just be content to stay in the Middle East; they'd follow us here."
His comments came a day after Reid raised the Vietnam War during a closed-door White HouseIraq," he said, referring to the roughly 230 people killed on Wednesday in the worst death toll since Bush ordered more U.S. troops to Iraq in January. meeting. Reid expanded on that in a Senate floor speech and a news conference on Thursday. "I believe myself that . . . this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in
Reid said he reminded Bush during their Wednesday meeting that Johnson refused to acknowledge that the United States was losing in Vietnam and sent more forces into battle -- at the cost of thousands of U.S. lives. The senator said he warned the president that Iraq will be his legacy, as Vietnam was for Johnson.
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Pulling Out Looks Alot Like This
"Given the longer term objective, it’s not clear to me that the US engagement in Iraq has been a failure. The US has removed a leader who posed as their BCS #1 and #2 . They removed the infrastructure of his party and their base of support…and what remains is a battle for hearts and minds in which the US troops are largely relegated to the sidelines. The number of US fatalities amounts to about 3 months work for the Sunni and Shiite fighters. These are acceptable battle field losses - and the political damage, honestly, has been minimal. Republicans have lost the House and Senate, but the Democrats are not on the verge of an FDR or Clinton presidency. There are still plenty of domestic issues for Republicans to restore themselves - and even “create� a new type of Republican - that Pat Buchanan kind - the kind that could be more appealing to Red Staters than ever before."
and this and that and this and that.Â
It's an argument I've heard
It's an argument I've heard before.
It's an easy one to reject, due to the fact that every specific step that was undertaken has failed. Â