Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

Democrats declared the War in Iraq a ‘quagmire’ from day one:

'Quagmire' Analogy Gets Much Use

The quagmire metaphor first arose in Vietnam but has seen regular use and misuse throughout the War on Terror

"The suggestion of those who say we are losing or that we're in a quagmire seems to be that as long as there's violence in Iraq that the conclusion must be that insurgents are winning. Not so," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Monday.

That would make every war a quagmire until it is over.

"Obviously I don't agree with the statement that the United States is losing in Iraq nor that we are getting into a quagmire," said Gen. George Casey, the top commander in Iraq.

Don’t worry General, it’s just the libs crying wolf again.

"Quagmire" as a military metaphor began with the book "The Making of a Quagmire" — New York Times reporter David Halberstam's highly critical account of President Kennedy's early Vietnam policy.

Wow, Kennedy founded the quagmire! And the Vietnam War had just started.

Ironically, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., was among the first politicians to compare his brother's Vietnam quagmire to Iraq. But his office acknowledged Monday that he is one of three senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee who has not yet visited the country.

How typical. I suspect he is worried about friendly fire.

The record suggests that reporters often don't recognize a quagmire when they see it. For instance, President Bush was first asked whether he could avoid a quagmire in Afghanistan four days after the start of the war there.

I wish he had just said 'no'. When is someone going to address the quagmire at the DNC?

The president said he could avoid a quagmire, but less than two weeks later the Los Angeles Times noted hand-wringing at home.

I guess one can’t really blame the media for generating a story out of thin air as that is what qualifies as news today.

The quagmire metaphor also hanged over early coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Eight days into the war, The New York Times and The Washington Post compared Iraqi fighters to the resilient North Vietnamese. Eighteen days later, the United States overthrew Saddam Hussein.

Well, at least we can say we had a week of non-quagmire combat.

As military operations continue in Iraq, the White House and Pentagon see only one persistent quagmire — the media's constant misuse the term.

Actually, they are using it properly according to this story. Could it be any more apparent that Democrats have politicized this war from the beginning and the media has been a willing accomplice? Fortunately, both are being ignored on a regular basis.

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