ra’s blog

“ ‘Free Iraq’ is within reach, Bush declares” was one of the main headlines in today’s The New York Times; its News Analysis reads, “ Bush takes a step away from Malaki“ . Its online video broadcast reads, “ Bush draws Vietnam, Iraq comparisons.”

He warned in a 45-minute speech before the Veterans of Foreign Wars that if the US withdrew from Iraq, the world would witness another tragedy like the one in Cambodia’s 75-79 genocidal regime.

I will now cite part of the articles above where Cambodia was mentioned for your consideration. Share your thoughts if you like.

In the text, Mr. Bush also links withdrawal from Vietnam to the rise of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, and asserts that the American pullout caused pain and suffering for millions, saying, “Whatever your position in that debate, one unmistakable legacy of Vietnam is that the price of America’s withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens whose agonies would add to our vocabulary new terms like ‘boat people,’ ‘re-education camps,’ and ‘killing fields.’”

In the speech, Mr. Bush sought to paint the conflict in Iraq in the broader context of American involvement in Asia. In one fell swoop, the president likened the Iraq war to earlier conflicts in Japan and Korea — which produced democratic allies of the United States — as well as to the war in Vietnam, asserting that the American pullout there 32 years ago led to tens of thousands of deaths in that country and Cambodia. “The question now before us,” he said, referring to Japan and Korea, “comes down to this: Will today’s generation of Americans resist the deceptive allure of retreat and do in the Middle East what veterans in this room did in Asia?” (Emphasis added)

What do you think of his statement in bold? Interestingly, it also appeared on The New York Times‘ Quotation of The Day.