I protest.

Remember Viet Nam?

The lies fed us by George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and the rest of the people in the administration that pushed the invasion of Iraq are beginning to come back to haunt us: Daily Kos: Iraqi guerillas fire opening salvo. Kos quotes this Reuters article: Wave of Attacks Claim U.S. Casualties in Iraq. I certainly hope that this isn't the beginning of a new Viet Nam, but I'm afraid that this is only the beginning of the guerilla attacks.

In one sense it cannot be a Viet Nam, because there is certainly no true freedom fighter, no Uncle Ho leading the guerillas, but Iraq could turn out to be an even worse quagmire for the United States. Like Viet Nam, they would see themselves as fighting an invader for their homes and for self-determination. Saddam was certainly a monster but when he was in power people had electricity, running water, health care, jobs and enough to eat. Saddam is gone but what have we put in his place? Nothing. We have dithered, we have bungled, we have failed the Iraqi people in every way.

Meanwhile, Bush and his cronies wave away questions about the absence of those terrible "weapons of mass destruction," when our press even bothers to ask. They call their lies "a matter of emphasis" and they ignore the reality that stares them in the face.

We as a country will deeply regret the actions that we have taken over the last few months. It has already begun. Unfortunately those responsible will not be the ones who pay for our national arrogance with their lives.