A great man and Philosopher once said, "man who fails to learn from History, is "CONDEMNED" to repeat it. His name was Voltaire. He died in exile but his prophecy of revolution was fulfilled.

Whether or not our leaders will ever learn is somewhat doubtful. They have not learned from the Vietnam experience, or the Russian experiences in Afganistan. The Russians fought for twelve years in Afganistan, against a people who not only belived in what they were fighting for, but were prepared to die for those beliefs. The Russian losses were horrific to say the least, and in the end they had no choice but to withdraw.

The same could be said about Vietnam. While I was booking my table for dinner after breakfast, expecting to be there to eat it. A Vietnamese peasant ate his bowl of rice, said goodbye to his family, and went out to die.

Iraq will be the same. Whenever there is a confrontation between Politics and Theocracy, especially radical Theocracy, politics will always come out second best. Sooner or later the Australian and American Voter will start to protest more strongly about what is going on. The coalition of the willing will have no choice but to withdraw. The civil war which is gaining momentum in Iraq will turn into full scale war. Politics and any fledgling Democracy wiil be thrown out the door and Iraq will end up as a She' ite Theocracy, just like Iran. Let's face it, the Shea outnumber the Sunni by about twenty to one.

I am not being a defeatist in this, I am being a realist and learning from History. I hope I am wrong, that things will change before many more young lives are lost in this unwinable conflict.

I also sincerely hope the the aftermath of Vietnam will not be repeated. That the people will greet returning servicemen and women, not as pariahs as in the past, but as the heroes that they truly are.