With the claims of U.S. soldiers commiting criminal acts in Iraq I would like to point out that not many soldiers have the propensity to shoot innocent civilians, not at least in the beginning. The current situation in Iraq reminds me of the public response to a few atrocities in Vietnam. But the problem remains that there is growing resistance to the war in Iraq, and I wonder if anything was learned from the Vietnam War.

From the time we invaded Iraq, I felt the United States was making a mistake. There is a great danger in losing this war. If we fail, chances are there will be an untouchable safe haven for Islamic terrorists. This is an enemy that is the most difficult to defeat. Winning battles and territory does not count. Capturing or killing the leaders only makes them martyrs and fuels the enlistment of moderate Muslims to the extremist ranks. I believe the invasion of Iraq will in years to come prove to be another great military mistake of the United States.
Any atrocity that occurs is fuel for the jihad and plays to the favor of extremist Muslims. The tactics of the enemy are not uncalculating. They are creating tension between Sunnis and Shia to keep Iraq from forming a strong government that can effectively counter terrorists within Iraq.
This tension also plays on the psyche of the American public. If we see dissension among the Iraqi people, how are we to believe the Iraqis can establish a secure government?
Another problem is that the longer soldiers have to operate in a war where the enemy can strike at will and then fade easily into the civilian population, the more the frustration grows among our troops. Soon everyone appears to be the enemy, especially when your fellow soldiers are killed or maimed and the enemy disappears before your very eyes. The psychological impact on the troops is intense.
While serving my two tours in Vietnam, I had to constantly fight the notion that all Vietnamese were the enemy. I thank God I never accepted the hatred that many Vietnam vets acquired. Years after the war I encountered veterans who wanted to return to Nam and kill every living thing - man, woman, child, dog, even chickens. If they had their way Vietnam would have been left a dead barren land.
Conventional troops are not trained to deal with terrorists. This is best left to the Special Forces. I believe our leaders are just realizing this, with the increased recruitment of Navy Seals and other Special Forces. Bush was right that this is going to be a long drawn-out war, but he was wrong in committing conventional troops to fight the battle.
Bush and other conservatives did have the interest of the American people in mind, though this is questionable, but did not think out the consequences of their decisions. Lately, listening to Bush I feel like I've eaten bad seafood. Trying to digest what he says makes me want to throw up.