IRAQ

Asia Times: In Iraq, 'v' doesn't stand for victory
Vietnam and Watergate are two overwhelming metaphors of the American political lexicon with which no sitting president wants any association. The first one is related to the United States's rather humiliating withdrawal from South Vietnam, and the second axiom epitomizes political corruption that led to the ignominious ouster of a president from office. That is one reason why the administration of President George W Bush is fighting an uphill battle to nip in the bud all the suggestions of similarities between its presence in Iraq and the Vietnamese imbroglio. But there are similarities, to be sure, and they are intensifying. Shadows of the ghosts of Vietnam are growing tall.