Haig: Vietnam Mistakes Repeated in Iraq

[NVMojo]

BOSTON (AP) -

Former Nixon adviser Alexander Haig said military leaders in Iraq are repeating a mistake made in Vietnam by not applying the full force of the military to win the war.

"Every asset of the nation must be applied to the conflict to bring about a quick and successful outcome, or don't do it," Haig said. "We're in the midst of another struggle where it appears to me we haven't learned very much."

The comments by Haig, also a Secretary of State under President Reagan, came Saturday at a conference at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum examining the Vietnam War and the American Presidency.

The conference brought together advisers from the Nixon, Johnson and Kennedy administrations, and talk turned to Iraq where the panelists saw parallels with Vietnam.

more...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-me/2006/mar/11/031104589.html

[Drum]

1. Cheney, Rummy, are you listening?

You twits never stopped hoping you could you could resurrect your 1970s garage band, and here we are again.

You sucked the first time too, in Nixon's day...give it up already.

[Faygo Kid]

2. "Every asset" - even repealing tax cuts? Nah.

Besides, like Vietnam, this is an unwinnable war. A "quick and successful outcome" is impossible, and thinking otherwise is lunacy.

[babylonsister]

3. Out now! No more blood should be spilled on either side.

We shouldn't have been there in the first place. We started this fiasco; let's end it now.

[NVMojo]

4. Damn straight for they have created a FUBAR situation for which

they are even less prepared to fix.

[babylonsister]

6. They are utterly clueless, I think, but have no problem

with lying their butts off to try to appease whoever still might believe in their big lie. Out Now!

[reality based]

5. What would he do? Round up everybody into a concentration camp?

Then proceed to bomb every muslim country that objects into the stone age? What Haig doesn't say is that the "full force of the military" likely involves an incredible militarization of the world for the indefinite future and likely a resort to something resembling genocide.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

7. When all you have is an invincible military..... everything looks

like a bombing range.... too bad about that.

[BootinUp]

8. We just didn't bomb them enough right?

fool.

[sushi]

9. He sounds like

a madman.

[gratuitous]

10. Haig's been barking mad for decades now

But yeah, the "mistake" in Iraq was in not shocking and awing them enough, Alexander. Why don't you carry a couple of "tactical" nukes over to Baghdad, and show us how it's done?

Bloodthirsy, delusional idiot.

[acmavm]

11. He is. He was. He always will be. n/t

[0007]

16. He is a madman.

[still_one]

12. Haig you ASSHOLE, Viet Nam was another war based on a lie

you immoral bastard. If there is a hell you deserve it

[president4aday]

13. Haig joked, yes, +joked+, about raped and murdered US citizens

in El Salvador during a Senate hearing.

"No, I never heard of pistol packing nuns.", he said.

The "man" is sick.

[teryang]

14. This is one of the military myths of Vietnam, coulda, shoulda, etc.

There was no shortage of the application of force. We lost.

This syndrome on the right is similar to that of the Nazis after the defeat of Germany in WWI. The notion that they were sold out by leftists and defeatists who didn't make the required effort.

Army leadership was asked if they wanted more troops during the height of the conflict, they said no, they had more than enough. Way more bombs were dropped in Vietnam than were dropped in WWII. It made no change in the ultimate outcome. Bombing is overrated as a military tactic. It's political consequences are diastrous.

The factors in the loss are similar. A intelligent, tough and hostile population from a millenia old culture. They are accustomed to hardship and warfare. An irregular and resourceful enemy supported by external powers. A complete inability to determine what was going on around them by the invading force. An alien force supported at the tail end of an overextended logistics train making the entire expedition and campaign a textbook lesson in cost ineffectiveness and corruption. Latest bill for Iraq is over 429 billion at this point. What did we get for our money? A would be dictator at home claiming to a "war president" while his family of cronies get rich off of defense contracting. A war without a righteous justification is always in danger of political failure when the going gets rough. But this was advertized as a cakewalk. War is a cakewalk? Dont ever get involved in a land war in Asia is still a pretty good generalization.

Most ordinary Americans have finally caught on to this. Failure speaks for itself regardless of corporate propaganda. Haig doesn't get it. Anyone suprised?

[hollowdweller]

20. You are dead on brother! Short of genocide you can't subdue a people.

[daleo]

15. This is just neo-con cant

How much more brutal could the U.S. have possibly been in the Viet Nam or Iraq, short of nuking them?

[libodem]

17. They never got over not bombing Hanoi

The Brass wanted to decimate North Viet Nam. One reason not to, were the POWs, they had them in the middle of the city. And I'm not sure if it was an actually declared war. I don't think it was called that. Something like a peace action. Or advisory assistance. Or some term that means we aren't at war but we aren't minding our own business, either. There are still a lot of people around who believe that because we didn't bomb every human being into dust we didn't finish winning that war. I believe that is what Shock and Awe was meant to do, satisfy the bloodlust some people never got to experience in Viet Nam. They meant to bomb Iraq into complete submission with one mission. Hence GWB's infamous Carrier landing declaring the job done. We had 'em down once and we lost our momentum. That county is trying to get back up by chasing us off and killing each other. We've made a mess of a stable terrorist state into an unstable terrorist state. What a botched abortion.

[Hardrada]

22. Police Action, I believe it was called, like the Korean War

[rocktivity]

18. It was said that if you could look up "saying nothing well"

you'd find a picture of Alexander "I Am In Control" Haig. So the original "dead pundit walking" is still alive?

:headbang:
rocknation

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

19. Wow, I didn't know there was still enough room on the bandwagon

for an unmitigated piece of shit like Haig to pile on.

[deminks]

21. Al "I'm in charge" Haig and Henry "war criminal" Kissinger.

Two people I would never ever ever ever trust.

[Hardrada]

23. They are unwise to remind us of their existence.

There's room in the Hague prison cells for them too.

[TrogL]

24. I miss Haig - we need him in charge

[Teaser]

26. We need him in charge of sewer patrol.

nt

[Kat45]

25. I was there and heard him say it.

He and Kissinger are still serious war hawks. Someone asked Kissinger if he'd like to apologize for anything, and he said that it was not an appropriate forum for a question like that. No shit!

All in all, it was an excellent conference. I started a thread on it in GD, where I gave a synopsis of the various panels.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=637050&mesg_id=637050

[Catchawave]

27. Haig says U.S. repeating Vietnam mistake

MSNBC -

BOSTON - Former Nixon adviser Alexander Haig said military leaders in Iraq are repeating a mistake made in Vietnam by not applying the full force of the military to win the war.

“Every asset of the nation must be applied to the conflict to bring about a quick and successful outcome, or don’t do it,” Haig said. “We’re in the midst of another struggle where it appears to me we haven’t learned very much.”

The comments by Haig, also a Secretary of State under President Reagan, came Saturday at a conference at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum examining the Vietnam War and the American Presidency.

Cont'd at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11785513/

[mikehiggins]

28. As I recall, we threw everything but the kitchen sink at the VC

We still lost. Maybe we just aren't killing enough innocent men, women and children for a Cold War warrior like Al to be satisfied. So it goes

[seemslikeadream]

29. full force of the military? 50,000 I guess?

[bemildred]

30. Haig was one of the Vietnam mistakes, let's not repeat him. nt