Thet Moment?

When 11 US soldiers were reported killed in a single day (although in separate incidents) some left-wing American bloggers called it a "Mogadisciu Moment", obviously hoping that US public would drop its support for war in Iraq, and, subsequently, boot Bush out of office in 2004. However, that moment still didn't happen. At least not yet.

But today's bold attack on al Rashid hotel and evacuation of the building that used to symbolise American sway over Iraq might count as "Thet Moment". Just like Viet Cong storming of US Embassy in Saigon 1968 was clearest possible indicator of American inability to crush Vietnamese guerrillas, this attack could prove that Iraq is another Vietnam-like quagmire.

On the other hand, it is still too early to speculate about long-term implications of this event. Unlike 1968 embassy storming, which was accompanied by guerrillas actually engaging in mass-scale offensive, this could be interpreted as single, isolated and "unrepeatable" incident.