I lived through the Johnson years.

I have flashes of deja vu.

He inherited a war, too.

Yes, there's sand and desolation and frigid mountains instead of steaming jungles.

But the choppers are similar.

The armor our guys wear is better and thus, the mortal wounds fewer. And no longer do we blame the war on the warriors. For that I am most grateful.

But the operative word now, as it was then, is the same.

Why?

I can come up with no rational answer. Maybe I could have in 2001 and 2002 and maybe even in 2003. But that was more than half a decade ago. That was then.

This is now.

Why?