From Saigon to Baghdad: The Vietnam Syndrome, the Iraq War and American Foreign Policy

Melvin R. Laird, ‘Iraq: Learning the Lessons of Vietnam’, Foreign Affairs, 84/ 6 (2005), p. 43.

Donald Rumsfeld: ‘I have . . . gone to the dictionary. And I have looked up several things . . . one was ‘‘guerrilla war’’, another was ‘‘insurgency’’, another was ‘‘unconventional war’’.’ Question: ‘Quagmire?’ Rumsfeld: ‘Pardon me?’ Question: ‘Quagmire?’ [Laughter.] Rumsfeld: ‘No. That’s someone else’s business. Quagmire is – I don’t do quagmires.’1