Now is not then and Iraq is not Vietnam. America's War in Vietnam lasted 15 years and is over, but the mentality that led to it remains. Many have suggested that there are similarities and parallels between the War in Iraq and the War in Vietnam. Defenders of the Bush administration insist there aren't any to speak of. Of course there are dozens. Here are a few.

PART I

As in Vietnam:

- Images that show the real cost of war and the numbers on those killed and wounded are being suppressed, manipulated, undercounted, and censored. On April 2, 2004, UPI Investigations Editor, Mark Benjamin, reported that over 18,000 Americans had been evacuated from Iraq and that includes over 11,700 casualties. There have been an estimated 20,000 Iraqi military deaths. There's been little or no reporting of the actual number of civilian deaths. Benjamin's account included an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Iraqi civilian deaths.

- Arrogant US foreign policy planners convinced themselves that virtually everyone among those being invaded should and would be comfortable with invasion/occupation by foreigners, and comfortable with the creation of a puppet government. They're certain, and want us to believe that those who don't feel that way must be fanatical and/or under the influence of "outsiders", in so doing, overlooking occupied nations' very real sense of nationalism and patriotism. The US underestimated both the inclination and ability of those being occupied to resist.

- On all sides of the war, young working class and poor people are the vast majority of those being wounded and killed while the rich profit and profiteer.

- War spending, now 5 billion dollars per month, is accelerating a massive budget deficit and draining resources vital to human development. This is negatively impacting the overall quality of life for working people in this country, especially in terms of health care, education, and job creation.

- Much of this nation is opposed to the war. Those with good reasons to oppose US foreign policy in general and this war in particular, are being accused of being unpatriotic. It's as if the American people don't have a right to speak on what is being done with our tax dollars and in our names.

- Generally speaking, the US has achieved military dominance, but has suffered political defeat. Guerilla war is more a political engagement than a military conflict. The "hearts and minds" of the occupied have not been won, nor has the support of most governments and citizens around the world.

PART II

As in Vietnam:

- The military's own investigations have produced graphic and detailed evidence of male and female prisoners of war being systematically tortured, sexually abused, sodomized, raped, and murdered by US personnel. The military's own report described the acts as "blatant, wonton, and sadistic". Members of the CIA have apparently been encouraging and coordinating these war crimes. Contrast and compare My Lai and Fallujah. The "I was following orders" argument didn't work at Nuremberg and it doesn't hold water now. We should ask ourselves, "What goes on in American prisons in occupied countries when sick soldiers, like the ones grinning in recent photos, know they're not on camera?" More than one Senator has predicted that the information, now public, is only the tip of the iceberg. The US military is holding an estimated 7,000 to 9,000 Iraqi POWs.

- The stated reasons for the war continue to change as needed to justify the conflict. In Vietnam the White House didn't want to "cut and run" and unsuccessfully sought "peace with honor." In Vietnam there was talk of stopping communism and in Iraq it's "terrorism". But you never heard nor do you hear the White House speak of strategic military positioning or controlling the production of other nations' natural resources.

- The invasion and occupation is being portrayed by the White House and most corporate media as simply a matter of self-defense, even though the nation being torn apart has never engaged in any kind of attack on US soil. There's no evidence linking Hussein to the September 11th attacks. Ho Chi Minh had no weapons of mass destruction. At the time of the invasion, neither did Saddam Hussein.

- The White House doesn't have a clear and credible exit strategy. No matter how bad things get diplomatically or on the battlefield, the White House continues to insist that things are going well and that we must "stay the course". In Vietnam, there was always "light at the end of the tunnel".

- The White House opposes direct elections based on one person one vote. They're afraid "the wrong side" might win. In 1959, in Vietnam, the CIA predicted that if elections were held Ho Chi Minh would have won. The UN proposed election was cancelled. Understanding this kind of logic helps explain why these same culprits have no shame when it comes to the overthrow of foreign elected governments or their Election 2000 coup in this country.

- Investigative journalism is playing an important role in finding the truth that underlies US foreign policy. In Vietnam it was people like Daniel Ellsberg and "The Pentagon Papers" and now it's others including Bob Woodward and his book, "Plan of Attack," and Michael Moore and his film, "Fahrenheit 911" that help us see through the lies coming from the White House. We know that the White House engaged in unconstitutional war. War outside the knowledge of Congress. Almost a billion dollars, authorized by Congress for Afghanistan, were secretly redirected for the invasion of Iraq. Nixon did the same type of thing when he authorized the illegal invasion of Cambodia and Laos. This, along with lying to Congress, and obstruction of justice, helped shape Nixon's Articles of Impeachment. It appears as though Bush and his cohorts have committed similar high crimes and misdemeanors.

Editor's Note: Lloyd Daniel, a former Missouri state legislator, is a writer, educator, and advocate. His website address is www.lloyddaniel.info