Another quagmire for the US troops

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, April 09, 2004

Another quagmire for the US troops

Some media compared America's war in Iraq to the Vietnam War pointing out that in both the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq America claimed itself to be a guardian of peace. Yet America was plunged into the Vietnam War and caused a national resistance in Vietnam.

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Recently the clashes between US-led coalition troops and Iraqi anti-coalition force have kept on escalating. The question - Is Iraq going to be another "Vietnam quagmire"? - has become a hot topic among the Americans.

Senior Democratic senator Edward Kennedy was the first to raise the question. He pointed out recently: "Iraq is the Vietnam for Bush". The saying immediately encountered the rebuttal of officials at the Bush Administration. Bremer, US Administrator in Iraq, said: "it is in no way similar to Vietnam". Secretary of State Powell is among those who wish that Kennedy had better shut up "because we are in the process of a war".

However, Republican senator Mike Kahn said Bush should avoid committing mistakes like those of the Vietnam War. "We should tell the American people that the war in Iraq is going to be a long one. We cannot allege that brightness is right at the end of the tunnel as we did during the Vietnam War".

While pollster John Zogby described the current situation in Iraq as a quagmire like the Vietnam War. He said to the media: from now on you would hear the word "quagmire" a lot. "The public is confused: how can we extricate ourselves from this quagmire? Should we increase the size of the troops there? How can we reduce casualties?"

Analysts believe the current situation in Iraq worries the Americans. On the part of the government US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, in a press conference held on April 7, refuted the saying that "America is dangerously approaching the loss of control of Iraq", by stressing that the current situation in Iraq has not run away. The violent events that in last week had killed more than 30 US soldiers were described as acts by "a few 'mobs, criminals and terrorists' and were not aimed at the US-led occupation".

However, the smoothing words seemed to have no effect on the American public. For days the American media's coverage on reemergence of war in Iraq and its escalation has spread wide and far. The scenes of several killed Americans and their mutilation on the TV shocked the Americans, fearing that Iraq would become another Somali. Then Iraqis who oppose the US-led occupation rose in rebellion everywhere, causing further casualties to the US soldiers and heavy loss to other countries' troops.

On April 7 the Washington Post carried a top news in its front page with the title - US Forces Take Heavy Losses As Violence Spreads Across Iraq - in headline. A large photo was also carried of an American soldier carrying the body of another soldier. Cruel reality such as this casts a shadow on people's mind, which cannot be driven away by a few words of the Secretary of Defense.

On April 7 President Bush at his ranch in Texas listened to the report on the latest situation in Iraq and held a closed-circuit teleconference with the National Security Committee members to discuss the war situation in Iraq and countermeasures. In the meantime the White House announced that UK Prime Minister Blair would visit the US and hold consultation with Bush. All these reflect the White House' worry over the Iraqi situation.

Actually both the White House and the public are very clear that the general anti-US mood and run-away security condition is a new turning point for the situation in Iraq. One thing they didn't realize is that the United States helped Iraqis overthrow Saddam and "emancipated" the Iraqi people only to get a general anti-US mood in return. On Mar. 7 a long article occupying a prominent position in the Washington Post front page was titled Muslim Rivals Unite In Baghdad Uprising.

Some media compared America's war in Iraq to the Vietnam War pointing out that in both the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq America claimed itself to be a guardian of peace. Yet America was plunged into the Vietnam War and caused a national resistance in Vietnam.

A similar situation appeared in Iraq. It was perhaps for this reason that the Pentagon is ready to increase the number of troops in Iraq and has decided to let the troops scheduled to return for rotation continue to stay, which means the US troops are planning a long-term presence. From this point of view even if Iraq is not another "Vietnam" it is still a frightful quagmire for the US troops.

The article is carried on the 3rd page of People's Daily, April 9, and translated by english.people.com.cn

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