Commentaries appear at regular intervals. If you would like an invited commentary for your publication, please let me know!

In an earlier column on the war in Iraq I wrote:

While winning the battles, the U.S. lost the propaganda war, both at home and in Vietnam. The result was that any portrayal of American crimes and unethical behavior were seen as believable by many people throughout the world, whether it really happened or not. If we do not win this propaganda war, the same thing could happen in Iraq.

As I expected, the propaganda war is now raging full-tilt. What I did not expect, but am not surprised to see, is that the liberal media in the United States is not on the same side as the government of the United States. Even after being thoroughly embarrassed when they leapt to the erroneous conclusion that the war had become a "quagmire" when sandstorms and operational delays led to a one day halt in the whirlwind assault on Saddam's regime, liberal media outlets are still determined to pin a "Vietnam-like" label on the conflict. Now that the remnants of Saddam's forces have turned to individual acts of terrorism in an effort to drive allied forces from Iraq the liberal news media is trying to stick the "guerrilla war" label to Iraq, hoping people think of Vietnam when they hear that phrase.

Let's check out some of the more outrageous headlines from liberal media sources around the country:

• "Is There a Road Map Out of Iraq?"—Washington Post editorial column on July 5th.

  Remember when President Clinton promised us the troops in the Balkans would be "home by Christmas"? I know the Post does not remember that, or the fact that our troops are still in Germany, Japan and Italy after more than half a century. So for the people at the Post here is a free clue: The United States does not abandon people because a few criminals try to kill us. We did not do it after Pearl Harbor and we are not going to do it after 9-11. We will help the Iraqi people build a democratic government and we will stay there until they can defend themselves, both from internal and external enemies.

• "Images of Iraq war upset Vietnam vets with stress disorder."—Houston Chronicle, April 11th.

  This falls into the "duh" category. A Vietnam vet (or any vet) suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder could be disturbed by scenes of violence, including those in "T3: Rise of the Machines". But the writer gets "Vietnam" and "Iraq" into the same headline! Never mind that a far more relevant tie-in would be veterans from the first Gulf War. Well, that war ended with a United States win, and we cannot remind people about that, can we?

• "Iraq war burdens black Americans in many ways."—USA Today, April 7th.

  This brings to mind the joke headline "Meteor to destroy Earth: women, children and minorities to suffer the most." The writer of this piece tries to inflame racial prejudices and victimhood by implying that it will be black soldiers who will bear the brunt of the fighting, just like (drum roll)...Vietnam. Whether Democrat President Lyndon Johnson sent young black men to die in Vietnam as part of a racial strategy is a point of historical debate. However, today's military is fully integrated, and it has been led by such famous black generals as Colin Powell, now the Secretary of State in a Republican administration.

• "The Specter Of Vietnam"—TomPaine.com, June 26th.

  The writer of this piece simply abandons the pretense of objectivity and declares that Iraq and Vietnam are the same, despite the obvious differences. That is not surprising since the web site is a liberal propaganda outlet and the writer is a famous (among liberals) propagandist. In an amusing twist of logic the author tries to pose as a question why "the drumbeat of Vietnam can still be heard"—and then goes on to beat the drum of Vietnam.

What is really amusing is the extent to which the liberal media does not "get it", and continues to not "get it". The tragedy of 9-11 woke up the vast majority of America, but the liberal media is still fighting the Vietnam War. Never mind that for people under 40 Vietnam is "ancient history", liberals in the press act like it happened yesterday and the successful resolution of the Cold War, the first Gulf War and various smaller conflicts simply do not matter; the only thing that is relevant (for now and ever more) is Vietnam.

For the most part, the public sees past these obvious propaganda plays. The majority of Americans continue to support the war, President Bush and the multitude of reasons why the allies invaded Iraq. It is a shame the same cannot be said for the liberal media. Ironically, they are using the same tactics that Democrat President Lyndon Johnson used to get us into that war: lies.

It will be history that renders the final verdict on Iraq. We have to be vigilant, though, and make sure the losers do not write history. For you in the liberal media here is another clue: the losers are Saddam Hussein and his political allies in the United States—the liberal press.

...the propaganda war is now raging full-tilt.

The United States does not abandon people because a few criminals try to kill us.

The tragedy of 9-11 woke up the vast majority of America, but the liberal media is still fighting the Vietnam War.

We have to be vigilant, though, and make sure the losers do not write history.