The Vietnam parallel is becoming harder and harder to dismiss...

...but I still don't buy it.

I think I heard on CNN this morning that the Mosul attack was some kind of artillery barage. I forget the actual military term. But the NYT article, which is unusually vague, makes no mention of it:

A powerful explosion ripped through an American military base in northern Iraq today, causing many casualties, the American military said.
A short announcement from the military said the explosion occurred at noon Iraqi time near the city of Mosul, scene of raids by insurgents on police stations in the past six weeks.

Bull Moose has the most eloquent post to date on the Vietnam connection:

And as days pass, Donald "I don't do condolence letters"Rumsfeld bears a striking resemblance to Robert Strange McNamara. Moreover, the current Texan in the White House also clearly sees the light at the end of the tunnel. The Moose agrees with those who believe that the primary difference between Vietnam and Iraq is that the latter is far more strategically important. America can't afford a failed state in that critical region. Let's hope that this time history does not repeat itself as tragedy or farce.