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President Bush’s new plan for Iraq – expected to include reinforcements of 20,000 US troops and to be announced on Wednesday night – has echoes of Vietnam in the belief that another push will get the job done.

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History does not repeat itself exactly, so what happened in Vietnam might not happen in Iraq, but there are parallels that are interesting to note

* First there is the realisation in Washington that it is not winning. Mr Bush has admitted this himself

* Second, there is a policy of trying to hand over responsibility to the local government in the midst of battle, not after it – this happened in Vietnam with the policy of Vietnamisation

* Third, there is the belief by the US administration that more troops are an important part of the answer

* Fourth, there is an opposite belief by others that the enterprise cannot work and that disengagement must be sought – US public doubt is a theme common to both conflicts

* Fifth, in Vietnam too the president consulted an outside group – they were called the Wise Men and, like the Iraq Study group, they too urged a policy designed to lead to withdrawal