Which war do you think has been worse for the US, Vietnam or Iraq?

Question

Tell me your reasons.

Answer 1

BOTH// Both wars were bad because the people who were put there to do the fighting had their hands tied by the gutless wonders in Washington(Most who never served in the military)Who know nothing about combat. I served as a gunner on a copter & we were told not to cross a magic line on a map. Never mind they were firing on us with rockets from over that magic line. The same in Iraq. The rules of engagement are set for us by people who never served, go to Iraq, stay in the safe zone and tell our fighting men & women what to do. What they should be doing is stay at home & do the work of making america a better place to live & leave the fighting to those who know what they are doing. THE TROOPS ON THE GROUND, not Washington.

Answer 2

I can say Iraq at this time because

1. There is no 'good' exit option.
2. The US 'allies' are getting weary and when Blair leaves office in 2008 or late 2007, the US might just be holding the fort alone.
3. In Vietnam, Vietnamese were at the US sides. In Iraq, people are only joining the militia because it is the ONLY job available. They do not want the US there, just want to put food on their tables.
4. Iraq is far more 'ethnically' diverse than Vietnam. Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds.. and far too many individual military stronghold.
5. Religion is playing a HUGE aspect in this war.
6. Slab was right on one thing (though he foolishly equated 911 to Iraq). US volunteered to go to Vietnam. With Iraq, US DECIDED to knock on that door.
7. It took three years to realize the war in Vietnam was a mistake. Two years ago people were yelling Iraq is a mistake. The difference here boils down to how the 'leadership' of the day responds to that note.
8. Though you cannot compare both wars, I am sure that people like Michael Gove http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1055-1445265,00.html, who thought having an election is a victory for the US war in Iraq, must be reeling to see that a year later, Iraq is worse off.

Answer 3

Ultimately Vietnam was a politically motivated war fought for ideological reasons, Iraq is an economic and potentially religious war being fought to stabilize the price of our major energy resource. They are equally 'unwinable' for 'our' side as in both cases we are/were effectively fighting against the people that actually live there and trying to install puppet governments. There is no way to tell w. absolute certainty which way Iraq will go or foresee the results yet. Given the mid term election results it is v. likely W. will cut and run ASAP but if, for example the US were to continue to fight for control of the entire Middle East and win power or even just control over the region for the next 100 years the current action may come to be seen as a v. good thing by the West and the Iraqis that benefit but in pursuing this the chances of a fundamentally religious war developing and leading to untold suffering on both sides make the (likely) Iraq debacle most likely to go down in history as by far the worst defeat of the two.

Answer 4

This is a a double edge sword, here's why,in Vietnam we lost more than 55,000 military men, compared to today's war on terrorism of under 3000. If you play the numbers game Vietnam was worse.

Tour of duty wise, In Vietnam you were more than likely drafted, but after your 1 year tour of duty that was it, a military person would finished your last 6-9 months stateside (if you lived) and were then discharged."no more war ever". In Iraq soldiers are seeing their 2nd and 3rd tours of duty. So this is causing family separations and the woes that are associated with it. (dysfunctional children, cheating spouse, financial irresponsibility, etc etc". So in this case, Iraq is worse.

So you decide which is worse "multiple tours of duty" or the "numbers game".

Answer 5

Of course Vietnam which caused according to some reports about 3 million deaths and US was defeated beyond recognition by a force which was no match to America's superior one. I was in Vietnam recently and had a closer look at the destruction caused by America.

But don't be surprised if Iraq which is catching up beats the record!

Answer 6

Clearly at this point Vietnam is still much worse. More American lives were lost in Vietnam and no dictator was toppled as in the case of Iraq. Also, the American people did not support the troops in Vietnam, and in this war they do - even if they do not support the war as a whole.

Answer 7

Vietnam, because we lost over 58,000 soldiers in that debacle. By the way, did you know that war was started on a lie like Iraq was?

Answer 8

Depends on what you mean by worse. Since I am old enough and lost family members in Vietnam, you can assume my feelings in this matter. However the War with Iraq was way overdue - Since the USG needs oil.

Answer 9

Both. But Vietnam failure was a severe blow to US power agenda. This gave China some considerable gains, and the US rekons China's influence in the far east. US wouldn't dare touch the far east by military means. Its all diplomatic wrangling (ie North Korea). Has Iraq been worse? Only time can tell. The war is still raging, its a guerilla war. Don't screw around Iran, they are Shias, and they can get pissed real easy.

Answer 10

Viet Nam. Reason? The liberals finally got to hand the U.S. a loss in that war and pulled us out before victory can be achieved. There is still hope in Iraq.

By the way, look at what Nancy Pelosi, Liberal Queen of Flip-Flop, said about Iraq BEFORE we liberated them:

"As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I am keenly aware that the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons is an issue of grave importance to all nations. Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." - Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998.

Is it that they truly object to the war or just don't have the intestinal fortitude to make sacrifices to win it?! Hmmmm...