Lately, it's been pretty popular to relate our failures in Iraq with our previous failures in Vietnam. Surprisingly, even the most devoted of the Iraq war's apologists has now delved into the Iraq-Vietnam comparisons. In a recent speech, President George W. Bush invoked the aftermath of our withdrawal in Vietnam to galvanize near nonexistent support for his war in Iraq. With all of these Iraq-Vietnam comparisons being used to prop up desperate arguments, which idea do we buy into? Do we leave Iraq because it is similar to Vietnam, or stay for the same reason? Whether we stay or go should have little to do with lessons learned in Vietnam, as the situation in Iraq is nothing like the absurdity of our involvement in Vietnam. The uniqueness of the Iraq misadventure is, regrettably, all its own, and the situation in Iraq shares little in common with our involvement in Vietnam. When the architects of our invasion of Iraq — or liberation, depending on your preference — turn to Vietnam comparisons to justify their continued involvement in a war that has seen this nation's credibility, allies, and influence dwindle over the past half decade, it points to their acute desperation. Invoking the most salient American foreign policy failure to justify the most salient American foreign policy failure since, well, Vietnam, just doesn't sound like sound American foreign policy, does it? Only desperation mingled with intransigence could link the example of Vietnam to the debacle of Iraq in some sort of twisted attempt at justification. But the president did not mean to justify the war itself. The American people have long foregone the misperception that the invasion itself was justified, but the president realizes there is an argument to be made for our continued presence in Iraq. The ridiculousness of our current situation in Iraq is that we have created more of a mess than we set out to fix, and now it needs cleaning. Yeah, sounds like Vietnam. But I'm telling you, it's not. The myriad voices of critics — and their voices are myriad — would use the example of Vietnam to justify immediate withdrawal. After all, we thought leaving Vietnam would be like shooting ourselves in the foot. However, as presidential hopeful former Sen. Mike Gravel opined in one of his colorful outbursts in the CNN YouTube debate, you can purchase a Baskin Robbins ice cream cone in Hanoi. If that's not capitalism and freedom, I don't know what is. Mr. Gravel's platitude was meant to invoke the senseless loss we suffered in Vietnam, as if the freedom we see in Vietnam now will spring forth from Iraq once we leave. I like Baskin Robbins as much as the next guy, but I don't think ice cream is in the cards for Iraq. In Vietnam, insurgents fought for a unified and Communist Vietnam. In Iraq, insurgents fight for a piece of the pie that is the nation of Iraq. There isn't a faction in Iraq that has the sort of unified vision and purpose that the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong guerilla force had in Vietnam. After Saigon fell, there was only one Vietnam, albeit a Communist one. Should we leave Iraq prematurely, there isn't really a totalitarian communist government around with a determined willingness to pick up the pieces and get the whole Baskin Robbins franchising process started. Iraq may cease to exist once Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and the crew all have their opportunity to stake out their claim to Iraq unimpeded by an American military presence. In Vietnam, a nation was formed once we left. In Iraq, one may cease to exist. So whose Vietnam-inspired vision of post-withdrawal Iraq is most accurate? The vision of a stable, Baskin Robbins-filled Hanoi? Or the violent upheaval that plagued Southeast Asia upon our departure? Iraq is nothing like Vietnam, and the President as well as his critics would be best served to avoid the comparison. Unfortunately, viewing Iraq through the lens of Vietnam will offer little help and even less inspiration. Iraq offers its own horrors, its own unique hopelessness. Iraq invokes its own sense of senseless violence and breathless blunders. And it's all because we went in the first place. Gerald Cox ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in economics, languages and cultures of Asia, and Middle Eastern studies.