I believe that Vietnam and the
Iraq war are related. However, they do not compare completely.
In
Vietnam our justification was to prevent the communists from expanding. We wanted to prevent the domino effect. In
Iraq, our justification was to make the world safe for democracy. Both wars came out of another ideology or cause.
Vietnam was fought because of the Cold War and the mentality of the nation and the world during that period. The
Iraq war was an extension of the War on Terror and the aftermath of September 11th.
Both wars had specific events or things that sparked approval of fighting. For Vietnam it was the
Gulf of
Tonkin event. For the
Iraq war it was the supposed presence of weapons of mass destruction. Both things proved to be either made up or false.
Vietnam ended up being a very long war.
Iraq, while still in the early stages, seems like it could become a long war. There was no defined exit plan for the Vietnam War. The same seems to be true of the
Iraq war.
There are some major differences. There was the draft during the Vietnam War. We do not have a draft today, although it is not completely impossible. Because of the draft, people were more vocal about their disapproval of the war. I think people today disapprove of the
Iraq war. However, the only people who are fighting it are those that signed up to fight on their own. If they reinstated the draft, I believe there would be much more resistance to the
Iraq war. People today are not confronted with the war as they were during
Vietnam. It’s easier to disconnect yourself from the
Iraq war since there is not much of a chance (for now) or having to fight in it.
The Vietnam War was a TV war. Images from the war were shown on the news everyday. The video we watched in class on Wednesday showed many clips, including the one of the Buddhist monk setting himself on fire. These images probably spoke to the American public and added to their disapproval. The
Iraq war seems to be slightly different. We still get images from the war, but it doesn’t seem like it is that harsh. It’s easier to ignore.
