Does America's experience in Vietnam offer any lessons for today?

Question

I don't ask this to start a fight. I ask so we can have a mature dialogue. That's how democracy is supposed to work. Please don't spew a bunch of hubris and vitriol. Certainly people on all sides of the current war can find lessons from our long involvement in Vietnam that are germaine today. Also, I am asking this in Government not in Military because I am interested in the broader international relations context.

Answer 1

It's hard to say, because the environment and circumstances and reasons for involvement in the war are so different.

We went to Vietnam to stop the spread of communism; I'm not sure why we went to Iraq anymore b/c the reasons appear to keep changing. The intent was and is to bring those people a better way of life, which we didn't accomplish in Vietnam but in speaking with the Iraqi's we have (but we haven't found Osama either). The Vietnam conflict didn't pose a direct threat to us either, however, in many ways Iraq did and probably still does. As for lessons....I guess the only lessons I can think of is 1) Know when to get out and know when you've done all you can, 2) Don't stay just to save face or to make a political point, and 3) our wounded soldiers deserve better medical benefits than what they're getting.

Answer 2

I'd say the lesson is more neutral than people think. Victory is subjective. Most historians agree that United States was actually not harmed enough by the Tet offensive to do any real damage, yet the offensive attack was actually devistating to the enemy, who would have probably lost the war shortly after if it wasn't for Americans back home having their resolve destroyed by images of dying Americans. However, the war in Iraq is a different war and a different time, eventhough the weakness is the same, we care about our people like no other nation in the world does, as a result, we are weak when we see that our young men and women are dying. Also, the second lesson is, that victory is whenever you declare it, if we had withdrawn our troops after we caught sadaam, and called it a victory, nobody would have complained. Victory is subjective, its not a real finish line, its when the people in charge decide its time for our troops to go home.

Answer 3

Many lessons learned and historians are only now seeing the effects of Vietnam. This is not me talking but some of the more renowned geopolitical historians all over the world, not just in the US, now believe that the domino theory was real. The UN stand in Korea and the US stand in Vietnam caused the Soviets to back communist regimes that they otherwise never would have fooled with. Had North Korea and North Vietnam not been opposed, the Soviets would have been emboldened to promote the communist overthrow of countries all over the Pacific rim. Korea is still technically at war and although we were finally ousted from Vietnam, it took more than twelve years to do it. In hindsight, historians today see the ultimate collapse of the USSR in the late eighties and early nineties as directly related to our efforts in those countries. They finally realized that we were not going to go away when it came to opposing world Communist domination. It simply got too expensive especially considering that it was necessary to also spend vast fortunes keeping up with our strategic threat.

Ronald Reagan gets the credit for busting the Soviet economy with his star wars scheme but in reality the stage had already been set in Vietnam and Korea.

Answer 4

How about the fact that the Domino Theory was too much of a driver in US Politics? The government didn't seem to question it or its premise. Corollary: Be ready to question the thinking of the day and / or groupthink.

Another: Don't get involved in a war without being able to gauge public opinion.

Volleyball chick: Your post seems to rest on the assumption that presidents actually have the common good in mind. I believe that Bush and Rove used an age-old trick: Start a war in order to get more money in the pockets of political contributors (defense contractors, rebuilding contractors); this also distracts people from another big issue: cutting taxes for the rich, without regard to the long term effects. In this sense, Bush did learn from history.

Answer 5

You look to have each and all of the solutions. Why do no longer you get a cleansing soap field and get accessible instructing human beings? commence in Arizona and get a view of something of the tale as Paul Harvey likes to assert. Being around isn't being there. you're like a race song fan who has not at all ridden a horse lecturing a jockey. You combat to dodge being defeated. If Clinton had long previous after terrorists the international commerce midsection homes could nevertheless be status. You of course have found out your historic previous from liberal contaminated components. in case you prefer to roll over and supply, flow to France. they have been sturdy at giving up by using fact the beginning up of the nineteenth century.

Answer 6

Well not to spew vitriol in my opinion the lesson you can learn from Viet Nam is to keep the politicians from making the decisions. If a war is supposed to suppress something, then let the military do what it was formed to do. And that is to cause as much death, destruction and misery to the people we are fighting in order to get them to capitulate. In my opinion.

Answer 7

Evidently not. We don't seem to have learned anything. This is not the first war we have fought on a foundation of lies and it won't be the last.
Its doubtful. Again we have politicians who want us to be passive and accept what we are told. I think at the end of the day, oil has a lot to do with this misadventure in Iraq. Again America has betrayed herself in yet another foreign policy blunder. This time I fear we are going to be held accountable for Bush's war.

Answer 8

Well, it offers many lessons. Unfortunately, the powers that be refuse to learn the lessons.

One can't go into a land and fight those that are truly fighting for something they believe in. The fighters in Vietnam were willing to die for their "cause", and to rid their nation of the evil United States. Again, we were in a nation to "protect the innocent".

The "insurgents" in Iraq are fighting for a religious belief, and willing to die for that faith. They see the United States as the evil empire, and we do nothing but try to take over their nations. We proved them right by going into their nation. WE are the invaders. Just like in Vietnam.

Many call this current war "Bush's Vietnam". Why? Because he went in with what many call a "nobel" reason. But he can't get the troops out without appearing to be running. There is no way to do it. Bush failed to think things through. Worse yet, he failed to listen to those that play war for a living - the military advisers - when they told him to stay out, and that if he went in, it would be just like Vietnam, and he wouldn't be able to go in and win, and then leave.

". . .We've got a wall in DC to remind us all that you can't trust freedom when it's not in your hands. When everybody's fighting for their promised land. . ." (Civil War, by Guns and Roses)

I'm not used to quoting lyrics of songs, but I can't help but hear these words ring true when I think of Iraq.

Answer 9

Don't get involved in a civil war. (If you must, don't pick the side with the weakest leadership).
Don't cede the power to declare war to the president in an ill-considered resolution.
Don't fight an undeclared war.
Don't micro-manage a war.
Don't fight a war of half-measures.
Don't listen to protestors.
Don't invoke the draft unless you absolutely have to.
Don't abandon your allies, no matter how flakey they turn out to be.
Don't leave those who helped you to the mercy of thier enemies.




RomeoMike: that was Korea.

Answer 10

One of the biggest mistakes one makes is to look at every particular moment of history and try to pasts it to our current situation.

America equated the threat posed by middle eastern terrorism to the fascism of ww2 and subsequently dangerously under minded America's global standing in the world with a unilateral war of choice in Iraq that divided our allies, united our enemies, and created opportunity for our ill wishers.