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KANSAS CITY - President George W. Bush came under attack yesterday for invoking the Vietnam war to bolster support for the war in Iraq.
Bush drew parallels between the aftermath of the Vietnam war and the costs of pulling out of Iraq in a speech to thousands of veterans, many of whom served in Asia.
Democrat John Kerry called the speech irresponsible and ignorant, and Senate leader Harry Reid dismissed the comparison and said the decision to invade Iraq was "one of the worst blunders in American history".
But Bush said it was in the United States' interests to continue to work to stabilise Iraq, and cited modern democracies in Japan and South Korea as models.
He also quoted the emergence of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and violence in Vietnam after US troops pulled out to warn of the consequences of leaving Iraq.
"Despite the mistakes that have been made, despite the problems we have encountered, seeing the Iraqis through as they build their democracy is critical to keeping the American people safe from the terrorists who want to attack us," Bush said.
The comparison Bush drew to Vietnam was risky, and is one that others in his Administration have avoided making.
Many Democrats have likened Iraq to Vietnam, calling the war a quagmire that has taken a toll in American lives and money without furthering US interests.
The speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars organisation was the first in Bush's new campaign to build a case for staying in Iraq in the face of public disillusionment and defections among his Republican Party colleagues,
He will talk about Iraq in the context of wider US strategy in the Middle East next Tuesday when he addresses the American Legion, another veterans' group, in Reno, Nevada.
Bush said that like World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, the Iraq war was an "ideological struggle".
He depicted the conflict as part of the broader US "war on terror".
"The militarists of Japan and the communists in Korea and Vietnam were driven by a merciless vision for the proper ordering of humanity," Bush said.
"Like our enemies in the past, the terrorists who wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan and other places seek to spread a political vision of their own, a harsh plan for life that crushes freedom, tolerance and dissent."
Pressure on Bush is building ahead of a report to Congress due by September 15 from US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and the US commander there, General David Petraeus.
It will evaluate the progress of the troop buildup Bush ordered early this year in a bid to reduce violence in Iraq, and comes as the Democratic-led Congress tries to bring about a withdrawal of US troops.
Reid said Democrats would seek to force a change in Bush's "failed strategy in Iraq".
Kerry, who challenged Bush for the presidency in 2004, and who served in Vietnam, said: "It is unfortunate that President Bush would want to invoke a false comparison of Vietnam to Iraq, but not surprising that he would oversimplify the differences and overlook the tragic similarities.
"If the President wants to heed the lessons of Vietnam, he should change course and change course now."
Bush also used his speech to smooth over relations with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, who said Iraq could "find friends elsewhere" after US politicians this week called for him to be replaced.
"Maliki's a good guy, good man, with a difficult job, and I support him," Bush said.
On Tuesday the tone was different: "I think there's a certain level of frustration with the leadership in general," Bush said then.
- Reuters
