Calling it Vietnam is pointless hyperbolic rhetoric that services no purpose but to batter the opposition. It was a fairly good article, didn't appear to have an aggressive agenda towards either side, and is best summed up by one of the earlier posters who said that its 'Good news, but not near as good as some are claiming'.
The good news is that Al-Queda in Iraq has been heavily battered, its leadership hit hard, the organization has lost some of its influence with the Iraqi people and has become less effective overall at achieving its goals.
The bad news is that its not a defeated organization, they've proven and continue to prove highly adaptive to circumstance, and its quite possible that their current weakness is VERY temporary.
The optimist says that they've been beaten down to a manageable level and that the fledgling Iraqi government and army will be able to handle the threat they pose when we leave.
The cynic of course says that they're simply lying low because we're out in force. Once we pull back or pull out, its open season for them. And due to chronic sectarian difficulties, the Iraqi government and army will NEVER be strong enough to ward them off.
Take either line of logic and you could reason that pulling out any time in the near future courts catastrophe. Or that it doesn't matter how long we stay, the Iraqi government/military isn't getting any better/worse and will either deal with the situation competently or not no matter when we leave.
