A war to end all war analogies

Another week, another Iraq comparison. First, it was Vietnam. Then it was Korea. There have also been comparisons to World War II, the American Civil War, and the 1956 uprising in Hungary. Speaking yesterday in Martinsburg, West Virginia, U.S. President George W. Bush—as he has done before—compared Iraq to the Revolutionary War: The president, who ...

Another week, another Iraq comparison. First, it was Vietnam. Then it was Korea. There have also been comparisons to World War II, the American Civil War, and the 1956 uprising in Hungary. Speaking yesterday in Martinsburg, West Virginia, U.S. President George W. Bush—as he has done before—compared Iraq to the Revolutionary War:

Another week, another Iraq comparison. First, it was Vietnam. Then it was Korea. There have also been comparisons to World War II, the American Civil War, and the 1956 uprising in Hungary. Speaking yesterday in Martinsburg, West Virginia, U.S. President George W. Bush—as he has done before—compared Iraq to the Revolutionary War:

The president, who was accompanied by senior adviser Karl Rove, began his remarks by comparing today's soldiers to those who fought in the Revolutionary War.

The president mentioned Adam Stephen, a Revolutionary War general who founded Martinsburg, a city of 15,000 in the panhandle of West Virginia. "We give thanks for all the brave citizen-soldiers of our Continental Army who dropped pitchforks and took up muskets to fight for our freedom and liberty and independence," Bush said. He added: "You're the successors of those brave men. . . . Like those early patriots, you're fighting a new and unprecedented war."

And here we see the peril of war analogies. My guess is that a significant number of Iraqis, unfortunately, would see things differently—with U.S. soldiers wearing the red coats.

Carolyn O'Hara is a senior editor at Foreign Policy.

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.