Re: Is Iraq the new Vietnam?

Description: On the false comparison between Iraq and Vietnam.

Transcript: I don’t see that many. Vietnam was homogeneous. Iraq is not. There are a lot of differences. In the question of Vietnam, we didn’t have UN resolutions existent that would call for the use of force. There are a lot of differences. What is the same is, if you think about it, the remarkable ability of the American public to absorb casualties. In Vietnam when I first showed up in country, we were losing dead . . . 300 soldiers a week. We’re losing today 80 or 90 a month. But still, notwithstanding the neuralgia that exists around this issue, the American public seems to have a lot more patience for this suffering – if they can see a valid end – than many other states may have.

Recorded on: 9/14/07