In the past, The United States have been involved in many countries, in two specific examples, the Vietnam War and the Iraq Invasion of 2003. In both instances, the US had similar and different outcomes, ways of involvement and perspectives. Iraq, which was led by Saddam Hussein from 1979 to 2003, was in the United States’ radar because of the thought of the country having weapons of mass destruction and aiding Al-Qaeda. In comparison to Vietnam which had a civil war from 1955 to 1975, the two main belligerents; the US-aided, capitalist South Vietnam, and the USSR-aided, communist North Vietnam. This occurrence was during the Cold War, in which the United States wanted the south to gain all of Vietnam. The political aspects of what occurred …show more content…
This is mainly because of how the United States shaped Vietnam and Iraq for a long period of time after the conflict ended.
The US’ involvement in both countries had similarities and differences, in a political aspect. Both Presidents during the Iraq Invasion and the Cold War had a doctrine that changed the country. President George W. Bush implemented the Bush Doctrine, which asserts America’s right to attack any nation that has weapons of mass destruction that might be used against the US’ interests at home or abroad. This somewhat relates to Harry Truman’s doctrine, which pledged to provide US military and economic aid to any nation threatened by communism. This was important because the doctrines gave the United States the reason to attack both countries. Furthermore, the United States was overthrowing both Iraq and North Vietnam for the advancement of their values. In Iraq, they overthrew Saddam’s Ba’athist Regime in order to spread democracy and fight terrorism. In similarity to the Vietnam War, the United States and South Vietnam fought against communism for a more capitalist society. As shown in both the United States’ involvement in
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These social occurrences caused vital changes to our society and the way we thought about the wars. In the Vietnam War, many soldier casualties arose; specifically 58,000 deaths, 300,000 wounded, and many veterans coming back to the United States with PTSD and other health problems. Likewise to the Iraq Invasion of 2003 in which 4,000 soldiers were killed, 31,000 were wounded, and many veterans came back to the United States with health problems. This caused arguments from both sides. In one side, you have citizens saying that the loss of life isn’t worth it. In comparison to proponents of the war who believed the soldiers are fighting for peace and democracy. Throughout both the Vietnam War and the Iraq Invasion, the popularity and support for both wars changed. Through the span of 2003 to 2007, the popularity of the Iraq Invasion decreased from 80% to 30%. This was also shown in the Vietnam War, in which the decrease approval rating was as similar to Iraq. In both of these wars, the public became less motivated, apathetic, and trusted the government less. Throughout the duration of both conflicts, various Americans were protesting and caused drastic changes to the country. Throughout the span of the Vietnam War, many Americans were protesting lottery drafts and they wanted it to cease; in which succeeded. Also, another reason why people protested during the Vietnam War was to have
The Vietnam conflict has been known for being the most unpopular war in the history of the United States. The war of 1812, the Mexican war and the Korean conflict of the early 1950's were also opposed by large groups of the American people, but none of them generated the emotional anxiety and utter hatred that spawned Vietnam. The Vietnam war caused people to ask the question of sending our young people to die in places where they were particular wanted and for people who did not seem especial grateful.
The war in Vietnam and the war in Iraq differ in many ways such as; the reason for war, US support, the cost, number of deaths, and the time and place. In this essay I am going to compare the Vietnam War with the war in Iraq describing three ways in which the war in Vietnam differs from the war in Iraq. Three of the ways the two wars differ are the reason for war, number of deaths, and the cost.
The true answer to why the United States got involved in Vietnam lies in part in the Truman Doctrine. This statement is true for two reasons. First, the Truman Doctrine set forth a policy that was applied the international spread of Communism. Second, the Truman Doctrine was brought up when the conflict in Vietnam was increasing. The first United States involvement in Vietnam began in the late 1940's, long before it escalated to include the United States Military. Because of the basic terms or the Truman Doctrine, the United States was drawn in the Vietnam conflict. The Truman Doctrine dealt with fears of Communism, the domino theory, and a feeling there was a need for containment. All of Vietnam was in danger of falling into the hands of Communism.
Similarities Between the War in Iraq and the Vietnam War As time passes, every society endures situations which stress its very fabric. Each society's history is sprinkled with these situations. One such situation in which the United States underwent was the Vietnam War. For years, this particular event has been hotly debated. Hardly anyone who was present at the time agrees on any point concerning this war, except that they regret it.
The Vietnam War was the most publicized war during its era; moreover, this was the most unpopular war to hit the United States. All over the country riots began to rise, anti-war movement spread all over the states begging to stop the war and chaos overseas. This truly was a failure on the political side of things. For the public, all they saw was a failed attempt in a far away country. Events such as the Tet Offensive where the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong established an all out attack on key locations around Vietnam, and although the Viet Cong was virtually wiped out, this still had a large affect psychologically on the troops as well as the populist back in the United States.
In the history of the United States, foreign policy has caused many disputes over the proper role in international affairs. The views, morals and beliefs of Americans, makes them feel the need to take leadership of the world and help those countries who are in need. The foreign policies of President Eisenhower will eventually lead to the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War. President Eisenhower’s role in these policies was based on his military-type strategies to safeguard a victory in the Global Cold War. President Eisenhower’s foreign policies led to an effective involvement in the Cold War and enviably the Vietnam War from an American perspective.
In conclusion, I think that the United States became increasingly involved in the Vietnamese War because of the policies they had made as a promise to fight communism, and because they had sorely underestimated Vietcong’s ability to fight back using Guerrilla warfare. They refused to pull out of the war in fear of losing face before the world, but this pride factor scored them massive losses in the war. In the end, with both side sustaining heavy losses, the US were still seen as mutilators in the war, with advanced showing what their intervention had costed, and Vietnam was still fully taken over by Communism – they had achieved nothing and lost a lot.
U.S. political and military difficulties in Iraq have prompted comparisons to the American war in Vietnam. Unfolding events in Iraq have caused some observers to make analogies to the American experience in the Vietnam War. There are many reasons why most Americans believe that Iraq is becoming the new Vietnam, with U.S. troops getting shut down in a bloody war and occupation of a violent area. There are plenty of ways to compare and contrast the Vietnam and Iraq war. Many people have viewed Vietnam as a completely different war from the current one in Iraq. Despite these claims I have still noticed that there are many comparisons that have been made between the war in Iraq and the Vietnam War.
Engaging in the war in Vietnam brought a whole different set of "American Views" to the topic of war. This time the country did not support the war like we've seen in the past. Mostly by young people, the war effort was criticized and Americans staged massive protests. The Vietnam War's controversy spurred a great many sources of protest, against our government's use of power, how far we could stretch the rights of free expression, and primarily against the violence of the war itself.
Throughout the Cold War, Korean War, and Vietnam War the main problem was communism. Although the United States and the Soviet Union were allies in World War Two, during the Cold War the United States and the Soviet Union were known as enemies. The Soviet leaders bragged to other nations that communism would “scrape apart” free-enterprise systems around the world. This attitude angered the capitalists which led into the fifty year Cold War. The United States tried creating many tactics and strategies to contain the “bleeding” of communism, but during the cold war, communism spread faster then it could be restrained. The United States used the Marshall Plan , the Trueman Doctrine, and the Berlin Airlift to help lead people to a capitalist form of government.
The world’s history is majorly shaped by mega wars that happen both inside and outside the boundaries of individual nations. Almost every sovereign state in the world had to forcefully liberate itself from its colonizers and oppressors mainly through warfare. For instance, America had to fight a long and exhausting revolutionary war against the British before it could attain its independence in 1783, likewise is the fate of many other nations. It is important to understand the two distinct types of wars that exist and their implications. Guerrilla warfare and the conventional military warfare are two types of war that are very different in their execution and military approach. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the similarities and differences existing between the American war in Vietnam and the American Revolution (Vetter, 1997).
James A. Baldwin once said, “The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose” (BrainyQuote.com). In the 1960s, “the man” was youth across the country. The Vietnam war was in full force, and students across the country were in an outrage. Society needed an excuse to rebel against the boring and safe way of life they were used to; Vietnam gave them the excuse they needed. Teenagers from different universities came together and formed various organizations that protested the Vietnam war for many reasons. These reasons included protesting weapons and different tactics used in the war, and the reason the U.S. entered the war in the first place. These get-togethers had such a monumental impact on their way of life that it was famously named the Anti-War Movement. When the Vietnam War ended, The United States did not have a real concrete reason why; there were a bunch of theories about why the war ended. Through negative media attention and rebellious youth culture, the Anti-War Movement made a monumental impact in the ending of the Vietnam War.
war. "The Vietnam War saw the US military supporting a series of regimes in South
The Vietnam War was one of the most outrageous and long-drawn out wars in history. The other name for the Vietnam War was called Cold-Era proxy War. The war had been battled in order to stop the spread of invasion from communism in the southern parts of Vietnam. The American played the role of a supporter to the southern part of Vietnam, trying to prevent communist from approaching the southern part of Vietnam. The Americans was influenced by the French government to help with the war. France did not support communism due to their loss to the communist previously in the Indochina War, resulting in the French loosing its colony. Later, both of the countries ended up strongly, supporting the southern part of Vietnam. The length of the war, the high number of United States casualties, and the exposure of U.S. involvement portrayed a strong hatred by the U.S population on the Vietnam War.(www.ebscohost.com) Southern Vietnam was supported by the United States, while North Vietnam was led by Ho Chi Minh. Ho Chi Minh was the leader of North Vietnam, who fought to liberate his country from Japan and France. He was the person who successfully unified North and South Vietnam. The United States first involvement in the Vietnam War began when the U.S supported France financially in the first Indochina War in 1946, which was under the power of President Eisenhower. Later, the two US Navy vessels gave the next President; President Johnson more power to fought against the Vietnam War. In 1968, a huge, crucial attack known as the “Tet Offensive” threatened the Un...
Vietnam was a struggle which, in all honesty, the United States should never have been involved in. North Vietnam was battling for ownership of South Vietnam, so that they would be a unified communist nation. To prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism, the U.S. held on to the Truman Doctrine and stood behind the South Vietnamese leader, Diem.