Complete withdrawal is far too dangerous
The Democratic political candidates running for national office are promising to remove all of the U.S. military from Iraq.
The reassignment of some troops from Iraq is possible, but to remove all of the military is irresponsible.
The Vietnam War is similar to the Iraq occupation.
When President Eisenhower sent military advisers to Vietnam, they were to train the new Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in military tactics to defend their county.
Over time, the Viet Cong with the aid of the North Vietnamese Army, began overpowering ARVN and additional U.S. troops were deployed to Southeast Asia.
The primary mission was still to train ARVN personnel but also to secure Vietnam from insurgents.
When the U.S. military secured a particular area, ARVN personnel were assigned to keep it secure. Within weeks, however, the insurgents returned.
The Vietnamese Army fought valiantly when they had the support of U.S. military, not only in personnel, but also artillery, tanks, air power and supplies.
After the peace treaty that ended the hostilities in Vietnam and the return home of the U.S. military, the ARVN collapsed like a "house of cards."
Iraq is similar to Vietnam. The U.S. military secures an area, lets the newly trained Iraq army or police try to keep it secure and insurgents return within weeks.
Unlike Vietnam, where the insurgents were trying to unify a country, in Iraq the enemy is from the same religion, different factions, and not all necessarily from Iraq.
The different Islamic religious beliefs have been fighting each other for a thousand years and Iraq is their current battleground.
If the U.S. military completely left Iraq, the world's oil supply could be in jeopardy, Israel could be endangered and a holocaust within the Muslim community is possible.
The Democrats do not want to place Israel in Islamic danger by removing all of the military from Iraq, so let's stop the charade.
Jack McCabe
Batavia