NATION : Drug War Not a Vietnam: Fitzwater

The White House, admitting nervousness about comparisons with the Vietnam War, said today there are no plans to use American troops in combat operations against South American drug kingpins.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said he wanted to knock down the impression that the Bush Administration might be headed for another Vietnam in its efforts to combat drug trafficking in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.

“There’s a lot of people trying to portray this as another Vietnam situation or the beginning of a massive buildup of troops,” Fitzwater said when asked about news reports that President Bush had secretly authorized a wider role for U.S. troops. “We do want to go to some lengths to knock down, if you will, the impression.”