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The Political and Media Piranhas of Vietnam and Iraq
By Thomas D. Segel
April 19, 2004

Recently a friend asked me to compare what is taking place in Iraq with our involvement almost four decades ago in Vietnam. To accomplish this task I reached out to veterans who fought the good fight. Their observations served to refresh the fading memories of an old correspondent.

The main similarity seems to be a resurgence of both political and media piranhas, who continuously gnaw at the underbelly of American patriotism and support. They are bravely led in this comparative observation of a pending Iraq/Vietnam quagmire by none other than Senator Edward Kennedy, whose only claim to heroics was running away from the accident he caused at Chappaquiddick in 1969. Providing a national voice for Kennedy and other anti-war Democrats are the cameras and pens of the mainstream media.

Though veterans assess the Iraq/Vietnam debate differently, depending upon the severity of their political persuasion, they generally feel there are only two elements of the conflicts which mirror the other...the political will of those in Washington D.C....and the negative reporting of our national media.

Retired Marine and well-known author Charles W. "Bill" Henderson writes from his Colorado home, "Iraq can become another tar-baby if we let it. While I still question the validity of President Bush's reasons for going into Iraq, and have yet to see his original justifications for launching the war substantiated, I must say that we are in it and must give our forces fullest support to execute the missions and protect our soldiers. One important lesson from Vietnam is the matter of support. Politics pulled support when it was needed most. Politics prevented us from prosecuting the war fully. You cannot have it two ways, war and peace at the same time. To attain peace you must prosecute the war full throttle, no holds barred. Trying to satisfy the weak spirited politicians only prolongs bloodshed and the horror of the conflict."

Henderson also reflected on the teachings of the great Chinese general Sun Tsu Woo, who more than 2400 years ago said that once we commit forces to combat, then we must execute with all power and without delay or restraint. He said we must fully defeat the enemy and recommended killing mosquitoes with a 16-pound hammer.

Vietnam veteran Warren Bonesteel is another who feels politicians are the only ones who can make Iraq another Vietnam. Formerly a registered Democrat, he says he is now considered a conservative. "The Democrats have been taken over by the left wing extremists", he claims. "They have fed the American public lies and the people have swallowed them."

"The Vietnam War is defined as an extension of failed political aims", he says. "It was lost by the politicians of both political parties of this nation".

Now, concerning Iraq, Bonesteel is angry. "I am mad. I'm tired of dealing with, hearing about, or tolerating left wing lies. When those views are based on ignorance, and partial truth...I no longer have the time or patience for them. They go on about war for oil and some big outfit Cheney worked for. That is left-winger's protocol. It's Socialist protocol. It's Communist protocol. It's the Islamic Terrorist protocol."

Former Marine Bill Fish sees no differences between Iraq and Vietnam. " The situation will never change", he says, "until we elected people to public office who can't be bought.

Larry St. Onge served in both Korea and Vietnam. He feels that in 25 years of Army service he saw us repeating the same mistakes over and over again. He wonders about this age of political correctness. "Is that why we haven't controlled access to weapons by Iraqi civilians", he asks? St. Onge notes it has been almost a year since the United States announced civilian possession and display of weapons was prohibited. "But, on every newscast we see the streets filled with people carrying assault rifles and loaded grenade launchers. But, to do anything about it doesn't seem to be politically correct."

Retired Master Sergeant John Clayton feels our political elite are playing politics and political correctness in the war situation, just as they did in Vietnam. "The politician and anti war activists are not doing our country or our military any favors with their actions and conduct. To the contrary, they are building the morale and feeding courage to our enemies."

Most veterans, when asked to compare Iraq and Vietnam, recall the Tet offensive of January 1968. They see what is happening in Iraq today as a small version of that event.

John Wambough sees the wars from an air combat perspective. He notes that in Iraq our air power was delivered up front and with great precision, where in Vietnam it was completely different.

He also sees similarity in how the media tends to portray great success as great failure. He sees today's reporting to be much like the reporting from Vietnam. "For example," he says, "The Tet offensive was a military success for us but portrayed as a failure by the media and then used as a political weapon. Aren't we seeing a parallel of this today in the liberal media - taking success and turning it into failure for political purposes? And to the great detriment of our national security."

The Tet offensive was designed to be a surprise attack on 70 cities and towns in South Vietnam. Though a truce was broken to launch this offensive and there was panic among South Vietnamese troops in the early hours, they soon reacted and fought back the enemy, suffering more than 6,000 casualties. The Viet Cong did not reach a single objective, though they did make it through the gates of the U. S. embassy before being eliminated by the Marine guards.

North Vietnam had committed more than 70,000 troops to the offensive and when the battle ended at least 50,000 were lost. The Tet offensive was an overwhelming victory for the South Vietnamese and American forces, but never reported as such. What was seen and read in the United States was about carnage, dazed Americans, blood and loss.

The Tet offensive, as reported by American media was a military disaster for the United States. Even Walter Cronkite, a full two miles away from any action, stood up in front of the camera and called the war lost. Following all the negative news, President Johnson announced he would not seek reelection. The result was Hanoi had experienced a huge defeat...and we gave the enemy an unearned victory.

Today we have more than 130,000 Americans facing another enemy in Iraq. President Bush has promised the country full support for our troops. For him, failing in this struggle is not an option. However, we have an army of Kennedy followers, aided by a liberal press who insist on calling Iraq... Bush's Vietnam. Most people know it is nothing of the sort. However, lies repeated often enough tend to become reality for many people. Those most prone to projecting the lies, as truths are the piranhas of both the media and the political elite.

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.