There is a sense of déjà vu surrounding Monday’s Congressional testimony by General David Petraeus. In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson recalled his top general in Vietnam to defend the war against criticism from Congress.

Back in Washington, General William Westmoreland said the military had reached a point where “the end begins to come into view”. There would be “light at the end of the tunnel”, but “mopping up the enemy” might take two more years.