"WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is drawing a parallel between the Iraq war and the U.S. Civil War. Both had their critics but both were justified, she says.
In both cases, it was the right decision to fight and see the wars through, Rice said in an interview with Essence magazine.
Asked whether she still thought the decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003 was right, considering the cost in lives and treasure, Rice said, "Absolutely."
Rice, an African-American from Alabama, then offered a parallel between critics of the administration's Iraq policies and "people who thought it was a mistake to fight the Civil War to its end and to insist that the emancipation of slaves would hold."
"I'm sure that there were people who said, `Why don't we get out of this now, take a peace with the South, but leave the South with slaves,"' Rice said."

( http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0609060238sep06,1,4210361.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed )

Dr. Rice-

There are a few differences between the US Civil War and the War In Iraq.

-The US Civil War was fought for one, very clearly defined, reason-to end the rebellion and bring the Union together. Lincoln said this repeatedly throughout the entire war.

-When a general was behaving incompetently during the US Civil War, he was replaced.

-The citizenry were asked to sacrifice both blood and treasure to their government so that the war could be won.

-Abraham Lincoln was pained by the loss of life during his war.