Vietnam all over again.

Professor R. J. Rummel of Democratic Peace reinforces my biased opinions. Luckily, we're both right.

But three things are different now. One is that there is a president dedicated to a war on terrorism and facing no distracting scandal. Whereas Nixon was reelected for President on the promise to end the war and in its dire days was faced with the Watergate scandal that eventually drove him from office. Two, there is no draft. Absent the draft, there are not the hundreds of thousands of anti-draft young people demonstrating against the war and providing the troops for the left and communists. This is one reason that some Democrats want to bring the draft back, but thankfully, the Republicans are not so stupid. Yet. And three, there was an open and fair election in Iraq and there democratization underway that is supported by the Iraqis. In Vietnam, the South Vietnamese government had little democratic legitimacy. It appeared authoritarian and corrupt and the democratic elections it held appeared bogus to many South Vietnamese. With the help of North Vietnamese agents, political organizations were set up in the South to call for a "Third Way" between North and South, for freedom and independence. These groups, attractive and legitimate on the surface, severely weakened the government at home and abroad, particularly in the Unites States, where "Third Way" activist often made speeches and gave testimony.

So, although as I watch events, I get this feeling that I've gone through this before, I don't think the outcome will be the same. In short, I believe the terrorists will lose.

Professor Rummel seems a bit more optimistic about the future than I am. I hope and pray he's right and I'm wrong.