Vietnam vet speaks on Iraq war

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http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_6161082

My link to Andrew Bacevich is through a Huntington Beach friend, Walt Mischler.

They were West Point classmates, served in Vietnam, and like most West Pointers, retained their ties through the years. Walt left the Army as a captain and is a bond broker today.

Bacevich retired as a colonel and has taught international relations at Boston University since 1998. He is the author of several books, and a frequent contributor to major newspapers.

He is also a staunch conservative and an ardent foe of American policy toward Iraq. The war, he says, cannot be won by military might alone.

What you have read so far may seem even more meaningful in light of what you are about to read. A month ago, on Mother's Day, the professor's son, 1st Lt. Andrew Bacevich Jr., was on patrol with his First Cavalry unit south of Samarra. They were checking vehicles when one of them exploded.

Lt. Bacevich was killed. He was 27. snip

Q. As the parents of a soldier, were you and your wife offended when the President said of the insurgents, "Bring 'em on"?

A. Deeply.