Years ago, when I was young enough to be drafted, I supported an idea called “Vietnamization” which is all but forgotten today. Vietnamization was President Nixon’s plan, at the end of the Vietnam War, to make the South Vietnamese responsible for defending their own country – so we could pull out. (And I wouldn’t get drafted.)

The rest is history. We ‘Vietnamized’ and when we pulled out, in the blink of an eye, South Vietnam fell to the Communists. ‘Vietnamization’ sounded fine but in the end it was just a political fig-leaf.

In an odd sort of way, eventually, it did all work out. The communist became so aggressive after they won the Vietnam War, they tried to take over Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Angola and a dozen other countries and the American people got so shaken up about losing ‘The Cold War’ they elected Ronald Reagan – and we won the war.

Today a lot of the talk coming out of Washington – about giving the Iraqi’s deadlines, goals and timetables to govern themselves – sounds a little like ‘Vietnamization.’ Let us hope the result is not the same. But if it is, hopefully, just as happened thirty-years ago, the shock of defeat will lead to an awakening that, in time, will lead to victory in the war on terrorism.

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