Article

2005-02-01 Iraq-Jordan

Beating a Dead Parrot....Why Iraq and Vietnam Have Nothing Whatsoever in Common

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Posted by Desert Blondie 2005-02-01 15:45|| || Front Page|| [5 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 A fair analysis would compare and contrast the similarities and the differences. The author does a good job of cataloguing the differences so I won't repeat them. Here are a few of the similarities:

* Extraterritorial sanctuaries (Laos and Cambodia vs Syria, SA, and Iran)
* Foreign ideological, logistical, and financial suppport (USSR and China vs SA, Syria and Iran)
* Terrorist infrastructure deeply embedded in tribes and villages (VC vs AQ and Ba'athists)
* In some cases, poorly trained militias abandoning posts and giving weapons to terrorists. (RF/PF vs ING)

Understanding the similarities are important because we can mine old databases to see how we dealt with these sorts of problems and shorten our decision cycle (OODA loop seems to be the hip new term) accordingly. By identifying what's different, we can allocate are creative resources more efficiently (let's face it, gifted problem solvers don't grow on trees) to formulate the appropriate responses at the tactical, operational and strategic levels.

Posted by 11A5S 2005-02-01 4:19:37 PM|| 2005-02-01 4:19:37 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 If one squints their eyes enough, both conflicts will look the same....

The big difference, at this time, between Iraq and Vietnam is that right now we are willing to do what it takes to win, and win promptly.

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2005-02-01 4:34:25 PM|| 2005-02-01 4:34:25 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Excellent analysis, 11A5S!

No McNamara, LBJ sightings? Good. This won't be an Edsel.

Kennedy and Skeery are giving interviews? Lol - who cares?! They're JAFOs on this flight.

Posted by .com 2005-02-01 4:39:23 PM|| 2005-02-01 4:39:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Mr. Public: Never mind that, my lad. I wish to complain about your reporting about Iraq what I heard not half an hour ago from this very media service. MSM: Oh yes, it's, uh, just like Vietnam...What's,uh...You understand that, right? Mr. Public: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. It's not true, that's what's wrong with it! MSM: No, no, it's uh,...it's the truth. Mr. Public: Look, matey, I know a Vietnam when I see one, and this is nothing like Vietnam. MSM: No no it's just like Vietnam, Vietnamese everywhere! Remarkable people, those crafty Vietnamese, idn'it, ay? Beautiful culture! Mr. Public: The culture don't enter into it. It's not Vietnam.
MSM: Nononono, no, no! Of course it's just like Vietnam! Mr. Public: All right then, if it's Vietnam, I'll wake Walter Cronkite up! (shouting at CBS) 'Ello, Mister Walter Cronkie! I've got a lovely fresh Richard Nixon for you if you show... MSM: (shows a picture of a burning car) There, see! Just like Vietnam! Mr. Public: No, it isn't! That car had US plates! MSM: I never!! (etc.)

Posted by Anonymoose 2005-02-01 5:15:47 PM|| 2005-02-01 5:15:47 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Hey .com, pshaw! Neither LBJ, Robert Strange McNamara, nor POW GI Joe anywhere to be seen. Plus no NVA coming down the HCM trail. This one is definitely winnable. We just need to get SOCOM and the Iraqis to start dismantling the infrastructure and get the Army and Marines back to doing what they do best.

Well another nail in the MSM's coffin today, huh? Soon CBS, NBC, ABC will be shutting down their news bureaus. In 5-10 years it'll all be webzines and cable news. Newspapers will be for those too poor or drugged out to afford a PC. I'm predicting a comeback for Howell Raines at that point.

Posted by 11A5S 2005-02-01 5:44:14 PM|| 2005-02-01 5:44:14 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 Lol, 11A5S! Spot-on, bubba!

Even Mac the Whore can't revise history enough to cover his sorry ass, heh.

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., NYT moron owner and Charter Member of the Kool Aid Krowd, will rejoice in hearing he can help his butt buddy, lol! Here's an absurdly (logrolling, heh) story about the NYT's future. It misses the point you make so clearly regards the true future of the news biz. Next Goliath: AP / AFP / Rooters / et al. When there is a functioning model for the raw data acquisition, it will be Game-Set-Match for the assholes, heh.

Posted by .com 2005-02-01 6:03:25 PM|| 2005-02-01 6:03:25 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 .com - I dont think that infrastructure is too far in the future. Right now I have a digita camera which can produce a halfway decent video (including sound). You can stuff a suprising bunch of video in 14 minutes for a 1Gb memory stick.

When these get on-the-fly mpeg encoding it could be mere minutes from some something happening halfway around the planet and it being posted on a blog (or video-blog) in video and accompaning text for everyone to see without the filter and talking heads and bullshit the media lathers over it.

It may not be studio quality video and the text may have mispeling (intentional) but people would be able to make their own decisions and not have some talking head tell them what to think.

And from there it won't be long before corporations and government start releasing video press-releases directly to the public instead of hoping the local news station can mention it betweent the big human-interest (oh-my-god-someone-looked-at-a-dog-funny) stories. It has already started with Government - the 9/11 comission for example was released directly to the network.

Posted by CrazyFool 2005-02-01 6:19:54 PM|| 2005-02-01 6:19:54 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 # 1 & 2 You both hit the nail on the head. When a comparison is made between the two wars- they
are trying to compare the time length- year's that
are tied up here and all the money as well as the casulties. You can never really compare the two war's there is too much contrast. We now fight
with computer's and technology. few computer's existed in the Vietnam days***

Andrea Jackson

Posted by Andrea 2005-02-01 9:24:56 PM|| 2005-02-01 9:24:56 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 Andrea, They had lots of computers and fancy laser printers during the vietnam war! Microsoft Word too...

Just ask Dan Rather!

Posted by CrazyFool 2005-02-01 11:44:33 PM|| 2005-02-01 11:44:33 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 few computer's existed in the Vietnam days

Yea, but the were much bigger!

Posted by Sobiesky 2005-02-01 11:46:49 PM|| 2005-02-01 11:46:49 PM|| Front Page Top

23:54 Mike Sylwester
23:46 Sobiesky
23:44 CrazyFool
23:44 #5
23:42 Mike Sylwester
23:32 Atomic Conspiracy
23:21 CrazyFool
23:17 3dc
23:10 Mike Sylwester
23:03 John Q. Citizen
23:02 2b
23:00 John Q. Citizen
22:54 Grunter
22:49 Alaska Paul
22:48 BH
22:44 Angie Schultz
22:29 Penguin
22:26 mhw
22:24 mhw
22:23 trailing wife
22:23 GK
22:21 Mike Sylwester
22:18 Cobra Commander
22:00 Frank G