BUSH'S WORDS ON IRAQ ECHO LBJ IN 1967

[TomClash]

Bush's words on Iraq echo LBJ in 1967

By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

WASHINGTON -- Bush officials bristle at the suggestion the war in Iraq might look anything like Vietnam. Yet just as today's anti-war protests recall memories of yesteryear, President Bush's own words echo those of President Johnson in 1967, a pivotal year for the U.S. in Vietnam.

"America is committed to the defense of South Vietnam until an honorable peace can be negotiated," Johnson told the Tennessee Legislature on March 15, 1967. Despite the obstacles to victory, the president said, "We shall stay the course."

After 14 Marines died in a roadside bombing on Aug. 3, Bush declared: "We will stay the course, we will complete the job in Iraq. And the job is this: We'll help the Iraqis develop a democracy."

<snip>

About 500,000 U.S. troops were in Vietnam in 1967 after a three-year buildup, compared with about 140,000 in Iraq today. Heavy aerial bombing was a primary U.S. strategy in Vietnam while Iraq, after the initial campaign of "shock and awe," has been mainly a ground war. The U.S. negotiated for peace in Vietnam, but there is no single entity with which to negotiate in Iraq.

<snip>

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1151&slug=Words%20of%20War

[Larkspur]

1. Joe "The Plagiarizer" Biden must be writing bush's scripts now