Worse Than Vietnam

Diana says that latest American experience is worse than Vietnam.

I tend to agree with her, although not for the reasons she used in her post. Iraq War is worse than Vietnam War for one simple, frightening reason.

USA, unlike in Vietnam, doesn't have luxury of simply calling quits, retreating few thousands kilometres over the ocean and treat that tragic episode as a misguided involvement into something that was and later turned back into essentially regional affair.

All those who hope that Kerry's victory in November and subsequent US military pullout from Iraq would bring back a good old Clintonian world are deluding themselves.

Pax Americana is gone, replaced by global conflict from which USA can't extract itself without losing its status of global superpower and endangering its very existence in the long run. The power vacuum left after American defeat is not going to be filled by UN, "international community" or emasculated Europe. The world is going to be much more dangerous place in which terror is going to be not only legitimate, but the most efficient and widely used political tool.

Going to war in Iraq was huge mistake. Pulling out is going to be even bigger mistake.