I'm sure you'll all remember this gem from last year, just before the Iraqi invasion:
http://www.counterpunch.org/vietnam203102003.html
Vietnam 2 Pre-Flight Check
- Cabal of oldsters who won't listen to outside advice? Check.
- No understanding of ethnicities of the many locals? Check.
- Imposing country boundaries drawn in Europe, not by the locals? Check.
(more below...)
So, my question is, in light of Plume/Chalabi/Abu Ghraib/Tenet/Rice/Rumsfeld/body armor/mounting casualties/running out of bullets/running out of recruits/imminent draft/ad infinitum, isn't it time to update this?
Here's the rest of the original, FWIW; I figure we can call the follow-up "Vietnam 2: Prepare for (Crash) Landing" or something:
Vietnam 2 Pre-Flight Check
- Cabal of oldsters who won't listen to outside advice? Check.
- No understanding of ethnicities of the many locals? Check.
- Imposing country boundaries drawn in Europe, not by the locals? Check.
- Unshakable faith in our superior technology? Check.
- France secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.
- Russia secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.
- China secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.
- SecDef pushing a conflict the JCS never wanted? Check.
- Fear we'll look bad if we back down now? Check.
- Corrupt Texan in the WH? Check.
- Land war in Asia? Check.
- Right unhappy with outcome of previous war? Check.
- Enemy easily moves in/out of neighboring countries? Check.
- Soldiers about to be dosed with our own chemicals? Check.
- Friendly fire problem ignored instead of solved? Check.
- Anti-Americanism up sharply in Europe? Check.
- B-52 bombers? Check.
- Helicopters that clog up on the local dust? Check.
- Infighting among the branches of the military? Check.
- Locals that cheer us by day, hate us by night? Check.
- Local experts ignored? Check.
- Local politicians ignored? Check.
- Locals used to conflicts lasting longer than the USA has been a country? Check.
- Against advice, Prez won't raise taxes to pay for war? Check.
- Blue water navy ships operating in brown water? Check.
- Use of nukes hinted at if things don't go our way? Check.
- Unpopular war? Check.
Vietnam 2, you are cleared to taxi.