The War In Iraq
by: Alex Hastings
Many people have mentioned the similarities between the Iraq War and the Vietnam War. Is this a valid comparison? Both wars dragged on long enough to cause Americans to wonder what our reasons for going to war in the first place were. The Vietnam and Iraq Wars both caused divides in the populace of the United States, between those who support the war and those who do not.
Another comparison that can be made is the use of guerilla warfare in both conflicts. Guerilla units attack in small groups and rapidly retreat once they have attacked. This tactic was used extensively in Vietnam by the Red Army which outlasted both the Nationalist government and the Japanese invaders. It was used by Saddam Hussein in an attempt to keep the US forces at bay. Indeed, those guerilla units managed to make a very large nuisance of themselves to the American forces. The success of small hit and run units against much larger foes is a well documented fact and worked very well in Vietnam and is working very well in Iraq.
Not all people believe that this comparison is a valid one, however. They state that any time the U.S. becomes involved in a conflict overseas that it cannot end successfully; it is declared a second Vietnam. Former military man Terry Voegel believes this is because of the news stations we have today. "If we'd had CNN and other news stations like that in WWII we'd have lost it. A lot of things happen in war we don't know about. It's hard to win a war when you can't be clandestine about everything."
Whether the comparison is valid or not, it is still there. Many veterans of Vietnam strongly oppose the comparison. And indeed, the actual facts of how both wars were conducted are very different. The United States tried nation-building in South Vietnam through its president Ngo Dinh Diem for ten years before exercising military force to achieve its goals. In Iraq, the U.S. utilized military force first and then proceeded to nation-building afterwards. In Vietnam the United States soldiers were facing an organized and trained army, while in Iraq, they were able to overwhelm the military forces with a brief show of force. While the effects on our nation have many parallels to the protest that sprang up during the Vietnam War, the actual practice of both varies. Retired General Barry McCaffrey fought in Vietnam in his twenties and says, "There is almost no political, military or strategic relevance in comparing Vietnam to this struggle."
Voegel says "I believe that the Iraq war was a result of us being attacked. The Vietnam War, the war that was going on when I was in the military, was a police action and escalated into a war, we were never attacked here."
Will the American people ever agree on whether or not Iraq is a second Vietnam? Probably not. If we didn't have the news media we have today, perhaps there wouldn't be as much controversy over the war because we wouldn't know that as much about it. But the facts can be examined and the mistakes made in Vietnam can be avoided in Iraq if our leaders are willing to listen to the lessons history teaches.