Lessons from the Vietnam War for Iraq

We Americans are an impatient lot. If we must engage in warfare, we would prefer it be wrapped up in weeks, not months, and certainly not years like World War II, Korea and Vietnam. In those wars we had the draft, so more Americans were engaged in fighting and watching their progress, or lack thereof. Today, while recruiting numbers have increased in our all-volunteer military, the taste for war among the public has declined. One of President Trump's positions that attracted voters was his promise to end wars, not start new ones. Granted, any candidate running for president can change his position once in office should circumstances change, as they sometimes do. This is what happened to George W. Bush after 9/11, though that war went on far too long and while Osama bin Laden, the architect behind the terrorist attack, was eventually killed in 2011 during the Obama administration, the virus that is fanatical Islam will continue to spread if it is not stopped. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has claimed the Iran war is expected to last "weeks, not months." But Yemen's Houthis, one of Iran's proxies, launched an attack on Israel last week, their first since the Iran war began. Putting a timeline on when a war will end is dangerous because if the prediction fails to come true it erodes public support, which is already low for this conflict. A new Pew Research Center poll finds "Weeks into the U.S. military campaign against Iran, majorities of Americans say striking that country was the wrong decision and disapprove of President Donald Trump's handling of the conflict." Here's the key takeaway from the poll: "About six-in-10 Americans (61 percent) disapprove of Trump's handling of the conflict, while 37 percent approve." My generation used to talk about "the lessons of Vietnam." Public opinion on that war was strongly favorable at the beginning, but declined rapidly as American forces got bogged down and the enemy persevered. What were then called "hawks" initially supported the war. Only 26 percent were "doves." In1966, roughly 47 percent of Americans wanted to increase the fighting and believed in the domino theory, that if Vietnam fell to the communists, surrounding nations would, too. By January 1969, as Americans were dying in much larger numbers and Americans saw body bags on their TV screens increase, 52 percent of Americans felt entering the war was a mistake. By 1973, 60 percent of Americans believed the U.S. entry was a mistake. By September 1970, 55 percent of the public supported bringing all troops home by the end of 1971. Vietnam remains a communist country, but signs of capitalism are more visible than before the war began. Members of the Trump administration should stop predicting when the Iran War will end and explain the goal of the religiously fanatical regime that appears to remain in control of the country despite the killing of many of its leaders and the destruction of its Navy, Air Force and other critical targets. Coupled with high gas prices and the dysfunctional Congress that won't, or can't, end the partial government shutdown that is frustrating travelers who must wait four or more hours at some major airports, this does not bode well for Republicans hoping to hold on to — much less increase — their Senate and House majorities. President Trump should deliver a nationally televised address, explaining why the Iranian ruling regime must be completely destroyed or they will eventually develop nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them, not only on Israel but also on the United States. Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com.