Could America be guilty of ignoring Naploeon's observation?

Question

" If you dont learn from history you will be guilty of making the same mistakes "

When it invaded Afganistan and Iraq and found itself in the same no-win situation it faced in Vietnam

Answer 1

Guilty--absolutely guilty of this. I do compare this to Vietnam; a no-win situation. Innocent people killed for nothing. The only thing missing is the draft and the protest marchers and singers. I really hope that it doesn't come to that again...

Answer 2

Let me explain a few things to you. We had the war in Vietnam won. The Vietcong were on the ropes and completely driven back out of the South. They were in the process of working out a cease fire agreement which would allow South Vietnam to remain an independent democracy.

As part of the agreement, Nixon began troop withdrawals. Our intention was to keep the troops close by to support the South if the North did not keep its word. However, as soon as most of the American forces were withdrawn, the vile democratically controlled congress cut the funding.

The North re-invaded the South in force. The last of our troops only barely got out alive. The resulting slaughter of South Vietnamese who supported us, the South Vietnamese who were politicians and the people of Laos and Cambodia was devastating. Now the democrats are poised to do it again.

Re-deploy they cry. All the while knowing they will take the opportunity to cut the funding and leave the Iraqis high and dry just as they did the South Vietnamese, Laotians and Cambodians.

No-win situation my foot! That sir, is the real history that you are begging us to repeat!


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Answer 3

Vietnam wasn't a no-win situation. LBJ just let it become one when he stopped bombing. Nixon bombed Hanoi and bombed the supply lines including the ones in Laos and Cambodia and he put the North Vietnamese on the defensive even with an ever-declining number of troops on the ground. Had we done this in '66-'68 we would have won, there would still be a South Vietnam, and the flourishing market-based economy much of Vietnam is beginning to enjoy now would have occurred in the mid-1970s.

Now, would that be worth the immense loss of life that the bombings would have produced? I don't know - arguably if we'd won and stayed in Vietnam we could have prevented Pol Pot and saved 2 million lives.

But that wasn't the question. You didn't assert that winning in Vietnam wouldn't have been worth the cost - you asserted that winning in Vietnam was an impossibility - - and that assertion is false.

Answer 4

So we were supposed to let the Taliban government in Afghanistan continue to provide training camps for Al Qaeda operatives and provide a safe haven for Osama Bin Laden?

Iraq is a bit harder to defend, particularly with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. However, I will say this. Saddam had already invaded two of his neighbors, and on 17 occasions refused to let inspectors verify the treaty he had signed. What were we supposed to do? If a police officer goes to a domestic dispute with someone that has a history of violence and says 17 times to a the person "Get your hands where we can see them", do you really blame the officer for pulling the trigger?

I'll concede we may have had better options that could have been considered. Maybe some sort of containment policy, Maybe limited strikes on important targets, etc. However, there was justification for going into Iraq, the treaty that Saddam violated by not allowing inspections.

Answer 5

We could have won vietnam if we wanted to. Heck it really depands how far you want to go. What we are doing is not targeting everyone has hostile not going into peoples houses randomly and not bombing areas where the cells are located.

And what the terriost are doing is soon going to get the people mad, because there killing more civillaions then they are u.s solders. They are making them live in fear so the more they do this the more civillains are going to join the Iraq army. And when that happens i think thats when the turning point is going to come to us and where going to win the war.


There where many reason why we were in Vietnam, but peopel just did not like the war.

Answer 6

The invasion of Afghanistan was a noble operation. We gave freedom from a repressive government and destroyed a government that ACTUALLY played a part in 9-11. The biggest mistake in Iraq is allowing this war to be decided by politicians.

Answer 7

1st of all, it was not Napolean who stated that quote, it was Voltaire. And the quote goes

"Those who do not study history are desitined to repeat it" He wrote it while he was in prision in the Bastille.

Napolean's most famous quote in terms of logistics/strategy/tactics goes to "Swift victory comes to those who can divide their foes, for they will surely conquer."

2nd of all, we won every single engagement with the NVA in Vietnam. We never once lost a battle with the NVA in Vietnam. Tet was a major failure for the Cong and NVA, despite the state-side media misrepresenting it to the public. Look at the documents from the Cong and the NVA if you want the evidence.

3rd, the phrase "From the jaws of victory we snatched defeat" comes from America in Nam. We politicized and chained our military. We had achieved measurable success in a war that JFK had gotten us into, and were looking to a major success under Nixon. However, the American will was lost. Even Ho Chi Min said that the war would not be won in the jungles of nam, but in the streets and colleges of America.

you should really do yourself a favor and read some history. Especially when it comes to checking sources with quotes. If you cannot even get Voltaire right, how can you get anything else right?

Answer 8

Senator Robert Byrd of West VA said we are going in to another Vietnam when the Senate was asked to approve the invasion of Iraq. It is too bad that we ignored them.

Answer 9

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

there is no comparison..except to the lefty..they rolled right into Viet Nam mode..

it's only because of following that exact template.is the effort being demeaned..

there are many soldiers that post here that think this action is
the correct thing..in Viet Nam..they all to a man had no idea
why we were there..after so long..except the gun-ho killer types

Answer 10

The Bush administration knew that. Perpetual war means BIG $ for corporations.