The Vietnam War of the 1960s was a protracted, unpopular war that experienced a lot of media coverage and local resistance. The enemy was no longer an official military force, but a group of guerilla warriors who deployed unconventional tactics to defeat American soldiers. The Iraq war carries a substantial number of similarities, from the unpopularity of the war to the level of media coverage it received. In this paper, the similarities and differences of the two conflicts are raised, indicating that they should have a similar outcome (the withdrawal of American troops from the region).
The Wars in both Vietnam and Iraq are very similarly viewed by the public – there is a large backlash about whether or not we need to be in Iraq, which is similar to the public disapproval of America’s involvement in Vietnam. In the 1960s, a huge protest movement arose regarding the necessity or legality of being in Vietnam – the counterculture movement was in full swing, and many men were avoiding the draft any way they could. While the draft was not in effect for the war in Iraq, there is a similar question raised as to whether or not we needed to be there.
Both wars are also very protracted conflicts, lasting for years or more with no apparent progress. Thoughts of withdrawal were treated by Bush as poor and lacking in foresight; he once said at a convention that "One unmistakable legacy of Vietnam is that the price of America's withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens whose agonies would add to our vocabulary new terms like 'boat people,' 'reeducation camps' and 'killing fields’” (Fletcher, 2007). The Vietnam War lasted for nearly a decade, with little to no progress made; Iraq has been going for almost that much time, and there is no sign of complete withdrawal on the horizon any time soon. The conflict consists of suppression of insurgents and maintaining the interim government, occupying the country as a territory.
Both wars have been intimately covered by the media, showing every detail of the conflict in an up close and personal manner. The Vietnam War was the first war to be intimately covered by the media, with reporters on the field among the soldiers, giving home a taste of the horrors of war – this gave the protest movement extra fuel to bring the troops home. The Iraq war has a similar level of coverage, with intimate looks at the lives of soldiers at that time, and even documentaries such as Restrepo being made about them (though that film took place in Afghanistan).
Both wars were pre-emptive strikes that were not considered to be necessary or legal when they were launched. The WMD threat of Iraq was soon proven to be false, despite repeated claims by the government that there were weapons of mass destruction there. This is similar to Vietnam, where the Gulf of Tonkin incident was played up and the mandated elections that ended up being cancelled anyway to stave off the threat of Ho Chi Minh winning them (Schechter, 2005).
Both wars also have American forces encountering strong, persistent guerilla forces employing nontraditional tactics to strike back. In Vietnam, the Viet Cong used sneak attacks, improvised weapons, and knowledge of their terrain to baffle American forces and spring ambushes on them. These attacks were devastating to the American forces, causing significant casualties and leaving troops with low morale and even lower survival rates. In the Iraq war, similar tactics are being used by Iraqi insurgents, using IEDs like road bombs to attack armored American forces, and using stealth to move around undetected. These tactics allowed both forces to use the environment to their advantage, as they knew better than the invading American forces where to hide and how to most effectively strike (Records and Terrill, 2004).
The primary difference between these wars was the active nature of the conflict, which was much more violent and persistent in its offensives in Vietnam. In the case of Iraq, the major conflict was over in a day, and the Hussein regime was toppled. The war in Iraq has been more of a protracted occupation, whereas in Vietnam, it was an active conflict to topple the Viet Cong forces throughout the duration of the war. What remains now in Iraq are a series of fringe insurgents who do not represent the main government.
In conclusion, the wars in Iraq and Vietnam are very similar, and must be treated as such. The circumstances behind how America became involved in these wars are similar, as well as the nature of the opposing forces’ fighting, and the overall public opinion of these conflicts. As Vietnam was a stinging lesson in how American forces can be defeated in an unpopular war, Iraq must be reconsidered under that context, and a way must be found to cease the conflict and bring troops home.
References
Fletcher, M. A. (2007, August 23). Bush Compares Iraq to Vietnam. The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - The Washington Post. Retrieved July 27, 2011, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/22/AR2007082200323.html
Record, J., & Terrill, W. A. (2004). IRAQ AND VIETNAM: DIFFERENCES, SIMILARITIES, AND INSIGHTS. Carlisle: Strategic Studies Institute.
Schechter, D. (2005, May 1). The Unreported Vietnam-Iraq Parallel. CommonDreams.org. Retrieved July 27, 2011, from www.commondreams.org/views05/0501-32.htm
