Then he writes:

Then there’s Goldberg’s dubious claim that “in Vietnam, the insurgency phase of the war was largely over by 1965.” Goodbye, “Charlie”!

Does Mitchell think I made this up? He offers no evidence to the contrary to disprove my assertion he simply makes fun of it like so many smug lefty boomers do when they hear something they don’t want to be true. For the record, I talked to and/or corresponded with a half-dozen military experts and vets I respect when I wrote the piece (including my longtime military guy, Donovan.Here is an except from one retired infantry Colonel:

“Vietnam was a state vs. state war. The United States and South Vietnam vs. North Vietnam and its Communist backers. The pure insurgency was over by 1965. After that it was a conventional war with U.S. forces fighting Main Force VC and NVA units. By 1970, main force VC units had ceased to exist except in name (they were manned by NVA soldiers and units), and the NVA was unable to operate in force inside South Vietnam. This changed as the US withdrawal accelerated in 1971. NVA units began to move back into S. Vietnam and take on S. Vietnamese units. They were still beaten back by a combination of S. Vietnamese forces and U.S. Airpower. The North Vietnamese finally succeeded with a massive conventional force attack after the U.S. had totally withdrawn all combat forces. (See McMaster, Dereliction of Duty; Sorley, A Better War.)”

Until Mitchell can offer an actual argument to counter the above, I’ll stand by what I wrote.

Then Mitchell continues:

With that taken care of, Goldberg described the ways that Iraq is “completely different from Vietnam in almost every major respect.” He mentioned the differences between a “jungle war” and a “desert war.” Also, “the technologies” are “incomparable.” And let’s not forget: the “terrain,” the “ideologies,” not to mention “the cultures.” The Cold War vs. The War on Terror. The casualty rates.
Of course, this is all one big “Duh,” the knocking down of overstuffed straw men. No one I know, when they make any firm or loose connection between Iraq and Vietnam, mentions anything on Goldberg’s list, for good reason. But this Goldberg variation is necessary. He needs to highlight the no-brainers to avoid the profound ways in which the wars are similar.

Oh… I see. The refutation lies in a quick survey of the people Mitchell knows. How silly of me.