ANALYSIS-Bush Iraq policy stalked by specter of Vietnam

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http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=N12441676

WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Four decades after America became bogged down in an unpopular war in Southeast Asia, President George W. Bush finds himself increasingly haunted by an analogy the White House dreads -- Iraq as another Vietnam.

The administration insists there are few parallels. Today's war in Iraq is fought by an all-volunteer military, the U.S. body count is much lower and there is nothing like the anti-war protests that caught fire in the 1960s.

However, when Bush flies to Hanoi for the first time on Friday to attend an Asia-Pacific summit hosted by former foes, it will be a reminder of striking similarities between the conflicts.

Bush loyalists are so uneasy at the thought of Iraq becoming a Vietnam-style failure that some hesitate to even mention the name of the drawn-out war that polarized Americans a generation ago. They refer to it as the "V-word." snip

The war has pushed Bush's approval ratings down into the 30s, comparable to presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon in the Vietnam era, and polls show a majority of Americans now think it was a mistake going into Iraq in the first place.