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Iraq war opponents take to the air, not the streets

By Jeff Greenfield
CNN Senior Analyst

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Two wars, a generation apart; two wars in which the early promise of success faded; two wars that dealt political wounds to the men in charge, and a far heavier toll on those who did what the leaders asked.

But tempting as it is, the drawing of parallels is too easy, especially when we look at how the wars played out at home. The wars were launched, fought and argued under very different circumstances, with very different results. (Watch: New polls say U.S. can't win in Iraq )

When the Vietnam War escalated in 1965, there was a draft in place; for millions of young American males, the expansion of the war was, potentially, a life-and-death issue.

And the mix of politics and self-interest helped produce massive anti-war demonstrations that were a constant presence on the American scene, far more than today.

And at times, some of these protests featured flags of the Viet Cong, chants of "Ho Chi Minh," the ruler of North Vietnam, and some of the more radical, confrontational faces and voices of the time. Sometimes, the protests seemed part of a broader counter-cultural movement against mainstream America.

In the Vietnam era, for example, the antiwar message was embedded in songs like Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" and "Blowin' in the Wind;" or Phil Ochs' "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore;" or Country Joe and the Fish's "Feel like I'm Fixing to Die Rag," with its chillingly "cheerful" chorus:

"And it's one, two, three, what are we fightin' for, don't ask me, I don't give a damn/next stop is Vietnam/and it's five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates/ain't got time to wonder why/whoopee, we're all goin' to die!"

This, in turn, gave President Nixon a powerful political argument that he used to rally what he called "the great silent majority," who saw in the more flamboyant, radical protests a movement they viscerally rejected.

Today, no one marches in the streets with portraits of Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden. In this war, some of the strongest objections have come from people like Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia, a decorated Vietnam veteran and former Navy secretary, or Richard Clarke, who once led the White House anti-terrorism effort. Or conservative Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, or Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, one of the most pro-military Democrats in the House. They all argue that Iraq has been a diversion from the broader effort against our adversaries.

Today, a comment by the lead singer of the Dixie Chicks in 2003 counts as a major cultural mark of musical dissent, and it's sources like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report that provide the sharpest jabs.

In other words, this has been a dissent more from the center than from the left ... not protest that can be identified in any way with those who wish this country ill, or who regard it with disdain.

As for similarities, consider this: The Watergate break-in, whose law-breaking cover-up ended the Nixon presidency and sent many high officials to prison, was a product of the White House "plumbers," who were originally created to discredit opponents of the Vietnam War. The conviction of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, which could send the onetime chief of staff to the vice president to prison, stemmed from efforts to discredit an opponent of the Iraq war.

And there is, finally, this common thread: In both cases, the growing doubts about the origins, conduct and cost of the wars stem from one key source: the fact that the wars simply did not go as those in charge promised. In this sense, at least, nothing much has changed: Absent a clear understanding of a war's purpose, and a clear sense that it is succeeding, America is just not a patient wartime country.

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