Those who are hoping for the worst in Iraq

During a vice presidential visit to San Diego in 1970, the late Spiro Agnew famously remarked, "In the United States today, we have more than our share of the nattering nabobs of negativism."

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who served alongside Agnew in the Nixon administration, might be inclined to agree with his one-time colleague. Especially after his Pentagon press briefing this week.

"Can you remind us again why this is not a quagmire?" asked one wag. "And can you tell us why you're so reluctant to say that what's going on in Iraq now is a guerrilla war?"

A fellow wag followed up. Could it be that Secretary Rumsfeld, that Gen. Richard Meyers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are loath to concede that Iraq has disintegrated into a guerrilla war because it "begins to bring to mind the last one that the United States had, which was Vietnam?"

"Which," the wag added, sarcastically, "I think most people can agree was not a resounding success."

A lay observer might conclude from the line of questioning that more than a few members of the media are almost hopeful that the transformation of Iraq into a peaceful democracy goes badly. That they are still bummed that the United States was able to turn Saddam Hussein out of power in less than a month and with far fewer casualties than much of the anti-war media predicted.

That they derive some perverse consolation in the ludicrous notion that the United States suddenly finds itself facing a guerrilla war in Iraq; a quagmire of Vietnam proportions.

He explained that there is no organized insurgency in Iraq; that the sporadic attacks against American troops are being carried out by disparate groups with different agendas. That includes looters, "who take advantage of opportunities that exist from time to time," according to Rumsfeld, as well criminals who were freed from Iraqi prisons, "tens of thousands" put out on the street.

There also are the remnants of Saddam's regime, said the defense secretary. Including "the Baathists, the Fedayeen Saddam, some army people, some Special Republican Guard, some SSO (Special Security Organization) people."

Then there are foreign infiltrators, terrorist types from other countries who crossed the Syrian border into Iraq, as well as Iranian-backed Shiites.

Day by day, U.S. forces root out those elements. Like the raid this past weekend, Operation Desert Scorpion, which, according to Meyers, resulted in the detention of more than 1,300 individuals, and confiscation of 500 AK-47s, more than 200 hand grenades and 100 rocket-propelled grenades.

Such raids will continue, assured Rumsfeld and Meyers, until Iraq is secure and safe.

As to the suggestion that Iraq has transmogrified into a latter-day Vietnam for the United States, Rumsfeld dismissed the cockeyed notion. "It's a different time," he said. "It's a different era. It's a different place."

Indeed, for the United States, the Vietnam War lasted the better part of nine years. More than 8.5 million Americans served in that war, some 58,193 of whom lost their lives.

U.S. forces have been in Iraq less than four months. Fewer than a quarter-million were needed to rout Saddam's army. And the U.S. military has suffered nearly 58,000 fewer deaths than in Vietnam.

Of course, the United States will be in Iraq for some time to come. President Bush acknowledged that this week when he said that the rebuilding of post-war Iraq, the orderly and peaceful transition from Saddam's despotic regime to Western-style democracy will be a "massive and long-term undertaking."

And, yes, there will be more U.S. casualties in Iraq, more deaths. That is regrettable. But it is absurd for anyone to even suggest that the numbers of casualties, of deaths, will be remotely close to the levels seen during the Vietnam War.

Though Iraq news coverage has been relentlessly negative in recent weeks, the American public remains positive.

Nearly six of 10 still think the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over, according to the latest Gallup Poll for CNN and USA Today. And nearly seven of 10 think it is worth having U.S. troops there now.

"There will be no return to tyranny in Iraq," President Bush said this week, "and those who threaten the order and stability of that country will face ruin just as surely as the regime they once served."

I often think about that. Chances were good if you were born in 1920 in Russia you would not have made it to your 30th birthday. First- you had to live through the Civil War and the first famines of Lenin. Then you had to live through the terror famines of the early thirties under Stalin. Then you had to survive the Great Purge of the mid to late 30's. Then you had to survive the war. Then you had to survive the post war purges and famine! Unreal suffering.

Dresden was partially about impressing Stalin. By the time of Yalta Churchill was disgusted with Roosevelt and his unfathomable ignorance and hubris concerning Stalin and Russian post war motives and intentions. Yalta indeed was an absolute comical low point in US diplomatic history. But Dresden was also just a continuation of "morale" bombing that had been fully grasped by both the US and Great Britain the year before. No pretense was made to avoid civilian casualties and it became the objective itself. This was of course hidden from the American public. The rationale behind this was that the civilains would become "demoralized" and press for an end to war. Studies done after the war proved it entirely false. Civilian terror bombing in Germany created a fatalistic siege mentality among German civilians and intense hatred of the allies. Dozens of allied airmen were ripped to shreds by frenzied German civilians upon being shot down. The terror bombing probably prolonged the war in the west and stiffened German resistance. The release of the "Morganthou occupation plan" didn't help any either which called for the basic enslavement of Germany males in giant construction projects and the reducing of Germany to pasture land. Roosevelt actually favored this to the horror of experienced state department men and Churchill who recognized the need for a strong germany after the war. Lastly- in the summer of 44'- when the "Front of Decent people" tried their last assassination attempt and coup against Hitler and failed- the US actually dropped millions of leaflets over Germnay taunting the particpants as even worse than Hitler. The presiding judge of the Nazi trials against the conspirators actually read from these leaflets approvingly. Roosevelt consistently refused any aide or even contact with the "FODP" in Germany despite it's many attempts to open communication with him. Many Americans died needless deaths because FDR wanted unconditional surrender of Germany.

PS- after the fire bombing of Dresden- many basements and bunkers were found with the bones of victims suspened in their own melted congealed fat. They had been boiled to death in their own flesh from the heat.

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