The Democratic
Plan to Withdraw from Iraq:
Back to Civilian Micromanagement of the Military
GrassTopsUSA Exclusive Commentary
By Gennady Stolyarov II
03-26-07
Numerous left-wing opponents of the war in Iraq like to classify it
as a second Vietnam, a thorough quagmire where many American lives
are meaninglessly lost. This designation is ironic, because another
Vietnam is precisely what Iraq might become if these opponents of
the war have their way with it. A perfect case in point is the
Democratic proposal currently before the House of Representatives to
withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by mid-2008.
The Democratic proposal establishes rigid timetables for American
troop removal, irrespective of whether vital military objectives get
accomplished before the deadlines arrive. Does this sound familiar?
It does, if we look back to the restrictions placed on the American
military during the Vietnam War.
The United States military in Vietnam was the single most powerful
armed force in the world—as it remains today. American troops
benefited from superior training, technology, tactics, and
intelligence. Whenever the Americans fought the Viet Minh and Viet
Cong in full-fledged combat, the Communist forces were always
thoroughly devastated. Even the Tet Offensive—mischaracterized by
the left-wing media as a defeat—was an overwhelming American
victory; the U.S. and its allies lost only 4,324 troops while
killing over 45,000 North Vietnamese Communist troops. All Communist
assaults on South Vietnamese settlements and bases were
repelled—without exception. In short, the troops fought valiantly
and effectively; their conduct in Vietnam cannot be faulted.
What, then, went wrong? Simply put, the troops were not allowed
to do their job. The Johnson government, attempting to confine a
genuine war within the parameters of a “peacekeeping operation,”
forbade invasions of North Vietnam and incursions into nearby Laos
and Cambodia—whose territory the Viet Minh and Viet Cong used to
infiltrate South Vietnam. Strict protocols—issued by civilian
leaders out of political considerations—bound the hands of American
generals, preventing them from using their awesome military
superiority to swiftly and conclusively defeat Ho Chi Minh’s regime.
In the meantime, the left-wing media gave the people a distorted
image of American troops as sadistic torturers and mass
murderers—resulting in even more public pressure to politically
restrict the American military’s capacities.
So
the American troops were not allowed to decisively strike against
the enemy, and the enemy continued to inflict thousands of
casualties that could have been averted by a more devastating use of
force against Ho Chi Minh’s regime. Finally, Vietnam truly did
become a quagmire, as American troops were shot down in broad
daylight and not allowed to retaliate against the true masterminds
of the attacks. Troops were withdrawn before the enemy threat was
eliminated, and Vietnam fell to Communist tyranny.
Military realities have the peculiar tendency of not being amenable
to political forms. Call it a war or a peacekeeping mission, but the
fact remains: there are fanatical foes out there with the will and
the resources to kill American troops, and American troops need the
opportunity to defend their lives and achieve their objectives using
the best methods they know. The Democrats in Congress can set all
kinds of rigid timetables for withdrawal and pretend that they are
solving the situation in Iraq. In fact, no timetable can kill a
single terrorist or diminish by one iota the threat that
Islamofascist savages level against the United States and the
Western world. When faced with such brute, primeval force as the
terrorists present, the only effective way to resist is through
force. The American military knows how to resist with force better
than anyone else in the world; why not just let the military
fight the terrorists properly? Civilian micromanagement of the
American fighting effort in Iraq will only shackle our troops’
ability to defend themselves and to truly secure peace in the
region.
We
can only hope that President Bush will veto this disastrous
proposal, as he has promised to do if it passes Congress. Any
restriction of the military’s activities in Iraq to an artificial
political timetable will only serve to make the Iraq War genuinely
resemble the quagmire in Vietnam. If the Democrats have their way,
the American troops will withdraw before the terrorists are
eliminated, and we will witness images in Baghdad eerily reminiscent
of the 1975 evacuation of Saigon.
Gennady Stolyarov II is
Editor-in-Chief of
The Rational Argumentator, a magazine championing the principles
or Reason, Rights, and Progress. His works have been published by
Le Quebecois Libre,
Enter Stage Right Magazine, the
Ludwig von Mises Institute,
Rebirth of Reason, and other organizations. Mr. Stolyarov can be
contacted at
gennadystolyarovii@yahoo.com.
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GrasstopsUSA.com 2007
