Bush Compares Iraq to Vietnam

In his speech to the veterans, Bush said that to abandon Iraq now would be "devastating" and asserted that the troop buildup is contributing to military progress there. He said U.S. and Iraqi forces have killed or captured more than 1,500 al-Qaeda operatives every month since January.

"Our troops are seeing this progress on the ground," Bush said. "And as they take the initiative from the enemy, they have a question: Will their elected leaders in Washington pull the rug out from under them just as they are gaining momentum and changing the dynamic on the ground in Iraq?"

Citing not just the Vietnam War but also the aftermath of other previous conflicts in Asia, Bush said U.S. action helped foster prosperous democracies in Japan and South Korea. By contrast, he said, the American withdrawal from Vietnam led to even more death, with hundreds of thousands of people dying at the hands of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, in Vietnamese re-education camps or at sea as they tried to flee communist rule in rickety boats.

"There are many differences between the wars we fought in the Far East and the war on terror we are fighting today. But one important similarity is that, at their core, they are all ideological struggles," Bush said. ". . . Today, the names and places have changed, but the fundamental character of the struggle has not. Like our enemies in the past, the terrorists who wage war in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places seek to spread a political vision of their own -- a harsh plan for life that crushes all freedom, tolerance and dissent."

"Prevailing in the struggle is essential to the future of our nation," Bush said. "And the question now that comes before us is this: Will today's generation of Americans resist the allure of retreat?"

The veterans warmly embraced Bush's comparison of the Iraq conflict with the other wars.

"I liked his speech. I agree with him. It is not time to pull out of Iraq," said Ronald Harshman, a Vietnam War veteran from Northern California. "I don't believe in giving up."

But Democratic senators, who will soon debate the future of the war, attacked Bush's analogies as flawed.

"Invoking the tragedy of Vietnam to defend the failed policy in Iraq is as irresponsible as it is ignorant of the realities of both of those wars," said Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), a Vietnam War veteran. "Half of the soldiers whose names are on the Vietnam Memorial Wall died after the politicians knew our strategy would not work. The lesson is to change the strategy, not just to change the rhetoric."

Kennedy said the United States "lost the war in Vietnam because our troops were trapped in a distant country we did not understand, supporting a government that lacked sufficient legitimacy with its people."