America

Whether you believe we were sold a bill of goods or not to justify the war in Iraq, it's our reality now. Whether you believe it was a noble plan or not, it has not come together. I don't usually believe in cut and run. I believe if you make a mess you should clean it up.

I also don't believe that no matter what, you should stay the course, either.
I remember vividly the daily horrors of Viet Nam news. The many funerals of my friends and young relatives just a little older than me. I remember the USA determination to WIN in Viet Nam.
I hear Bill O'Reilly ask, do you want to WIN in Iraq? Yes or No - no in between.

We lost 58,000 Americans in Viet Nam. Sometimes up to 500 a month.
We've lost 2856 Americans so far in Iraq with the monthly high toll just over 100, so far.
I think of those 58,000 Americans and wonder how they and their children might have impacted this nation.

Although the jungles and communist of Viet Nam are different from the deserts and terrorist of Iraq, I get a haunting deja vu feeling listening to the rhetoric and see disturbing strategic similarities. If we don't learn from history we are doomed to repeat it. That scares me. I don't know the answers but we need to rethink our definition of WIN.
Please VOTE!

Alex has a very thoughtful journal entry today. Check it out.