Second, in both cases the new justification became building stable societies. First, in Iraq, like Vietnam, the original rationale for going to war has been discredited. Yet despite the overwhelming number of differences, several similarities may be more important to the outcome in Iraq and the long-term future of U.S. In sharp contrast, Vietnam’s National Liberation Front (NLF) enjoyed the sympathy of people in many nations, including the United States. Furthermore, outside of the Middle East, there is little if any support for the insurgents. The insurgencies also share little in common, and Iraq has no charismatic figure like Ho Chi Minh to represent the civil-military movement in the public’s eye. So, too, do the armies the United States sent into harm’s way in Vietnam and Iraq. The strategies used in both wars also differ dramatically. Second, Vietnam began as an insurgency and escalated into a conventional war in Iraq, the war started as a conventional invasion and deteriorated into a guerrilla war. First, in size and scope, the Vietnam War simply dwarfs the war in Iraq. It is clear, from an operational and strategic standpoint, Vietnam and Iraq are very different conflicts. They rightfully point to several important distinctions, most involving military operations. invasion of Iraq, supporters of the war have cautioned the public not to view this conflict as another Vietnam. policymakers claimed Vietnam was the front line of the Cold War, and the future of the free world depended upon success in that faraway place.īut is Iraq another Vietnam? Is history repeating itself? Since the first days of the U.S. At that time, the context was the spread of communism and falling dominos in Southeast Asia. This grim assessment of the war and its false pretexts are especially haunting because the issues raise the kind of mistakes, misjudgments, and myths that led to U.S. Yet the war in Iraq was predicated on weapons of mass destruction that were not found and an alliance between Saddam Hussein and the al-Qaeda terrorist group that did not exist. Images of magazines critical of the wars in Iraq and Vietnam
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