Reply #2: Better if Hindenburg hadn't folded... [View All]

... to Hitler in 1933.

But, Vietnam is instructive here. Eisenhower started putting troops into Vietnam around 1958 (he had the CIA in there earlier than that). That war spanned five presidents.

The advantageous thing in this regard is that the US public has not much taste for long wars--Vietnam finally convinced them of that--and any candidate running on keeping the war going is likely to get hammered (barring no sudden events like another substantial terrorist attack).

It's important to remember that the US (and the UK) had one shared objective in this war--take control of Iraqi oil through preferential contracts to American and British oil companies. Additionally, the US wants military air power and special ops bases in the region. Once those two objectives are achieved, a majority of the troops there now will come home.

Cheers.