"Truman's Sixty-Year War"?

From the e-mail outbox of Gov. Howard Dean and the Democratic Party:

Dear [stuiec],

According to the White House, Iraq isn't George W. Bush's Vietnam -- it's his Korea.

Last week, Reuters reported that "President George W. Bush would like to see a lengthy U.S. troop presence in Iraq like the one in South Korea to provide stability but not in a frontline combat role. The United States has had thousands of U.S. troops in South Korea to guard against a North Korean invasion for 50 years."

The American people voted last November to end the war in Iraq -- not occupy a country engulfed in civil war for decades. A 50-year plan for Iraq is not a strategy and it's certainly not acceptable. But tonight, as the Republicans square off in their third big presidential debate, you can be sure you'll hear the Republican candidates fall in line with their Commander-in-Chief.

Write a letter to your local newspaper, and let your neighbors know just how out of touch the Republican Party is with your community:

http://www.democrats.org/50years

The 2008 presidential hopefuls are already offering their support for the "Korea plan." On Friday, John McCain said:

"We have had troops in South Korea for 60 years and nobody minds...If you stay a long, long time, but have the Iraqis doing the fighting, and your people are back in the bases and away from the firing line, I think Americans would be satisfied."

In the most recent CBS News/New York Times poll, 72 percent of Americans disapproved of President Bush's handling of Iraq. Looking back, 61 percent of Americans believe that the U.S. never should have taken military action against Iraq in the first place.

The American people opposed the escalation. They opposed President Bush's timetable veto. And they oppose a 50-year war.

Now the dozen or so Republican presidential candidates vying for his job want to continue this same failed strategy. We can't let that happen.

Write a letter to your local paper about the Republican Party's plan for failure:

http://www.democrats.org/50years

The Democratic Party agrees: it's time to end the war and refocus on fighting terrorism and strengthening our national security.

Those are our values, and those are America's values.

Sincerely,

Gov. Howard Dean, M.D.

Funny, isn't it? The Korean War was the result of a Democrat President, Harry Truman, trying to make the United Nations appear strong by wielding military power. The result was less than decisive and necessitated outside forces remaining to defend South Korea for nearly sixty years. I guess back then, Democrats and Republicans agreed that the aftermath of World War II meant that the United States needed to remain not only vigilant but on the scene of regional conflicts with global implications.

Unfortunately, the Democrats unlearned this lesson in the 1960s, and countless millions have paid for their backsliding with their lives. But you never hear the Korean War called "Truman's War."