why is it people keep comparing iraq with vietnam?

Question

there are two different wars fought at different times. is it because younger people want to "make love not war " like there parents. as an iraq vet i think it is disrespectful to vietnam vets. they did what asked for them at that time and todays vets are doing what is asked for them now. dont combine the two wars together so that you can feel justified for being against the war in iraq.

to all vietnam vets, welcome home and god bless!

Answer 1

Ignorance is the breeding ground of stupid opinions. For those of you who never knew Viet Nam, or even lived during the era, you have no clue as to what you are comparing. Viet nam was a fight to contain the spread of Communism. The US intervention was requested by a legitimate government that was being invaded. Viet Nam was a war of attrition, where the other side had many time the manpower to throw into battle and sacrifice. We fought them hard, we fought valiantly and yes a lot of us died. War is hell!
However most of the major battles were between opposing armies and in a rural setting.
Not so in Iraq. It took us hours in 91 to send their army packing and a few days in 2004 to do the same. The fight is not between two armies on the battlefield, but in cities and towns using bombs and booby traps by a pathetic group of cowards citing religion as the basis for their actions. If their was ever a country that needed us this is the one.
While over three thousand lives have been lost, we are saving hundreds of thousands who would die at the hands of the sectarian militia if we withdraw. If you for a minute think that we can leave without world wide chaos resulting, then you are uneducated to the ways of the world.

Answer 2

comparing the two wars has nothing to do at all about disrespecting vets. The circumstances surrounding the war are to remarkably similar to avoid comparison. The commander in chief today compared the two wars. If you have a problem with the comparisons tell the man who got us into Iraq to stop the analogies.

Answer 3

needless to say, the two wars illustrate what occurs once you fail to take account the values, custom and morals of the individuals you settle directly to "keep." the two wars are Orwellian in that they do no longer likely serve any objective different than to break culmination of the financial gadget that could desire to get carry of to the staff. Iraq is extra frightening in that we want the oil we declare we at the instant are not scuffling with for. So, it will be harder to cut back & run in Iraq. on the different hand if we save spending $10 billion money according to month our u . s . a . would be destroyed from interior of. In Vietnam casualties have been lots greater; even though, there grew to become into extra reporting related to the warfare. additionally, on the grounds that there grew to become right into a draft there grew to become right into a stable protest flow. no one cares approximately Iraq or could even sign a petition enable a lone march down the line. In Iraq our troups are "volunteers' and prefer McCain says they could combat and die for yet another a hundred years and no-one will care lots approximately it. yet, the troops pay a destructive cost. partly beuasse of extra powerful medical technologies, troops go through an exteremely intense fee of head injuries from IEDs. The lesson of the two wars are the Powell Doctrine: do no longer bypass to warfare till you're waiting to place each little thing into triumphing becuase triumphing is that important which needless to say it is not in Iraq. particular. there are various unhappy similarities between the two wars. ********************************** In interpreting the comments above the lack of expertise displayed is shameful. people who do no longer undergo in suggestions history are condemned to repeat it.

Answer 4

The wars are similair, they both dont make any sense, innocent americans and iraqis are dieng from things out of there control by people who dont care if they live or die.
And dont always listen to all the crazies on this military page, these people would follow bush into a trillion dollar war over a slice of moldy bread just to say that they kicked some ***. Open your eyes and never be afraid to question your political structure. I dont mind a justified war but fighting a war for oil is wrong.
And I always support the troops, I just dont support the current regime.

Answer 5

one comparison would be regarding the people we are fighting. you can't easily tell who is the enemy and who is your friend.
Another comparison would be time spent in country (not for the individual troops) we have been in Iraq for almost 5 years and it looks like we could be there another 5. The U.S. might easily be in Iraq as long as we were in Vietnam.
Another comparison would be cultural. In Vietnam the locals were Very different from us, In Iraq they are a very different people with a very different culture.

I could go on and one but those comparisons are enough for now

Answer 6

i personally don't care that hippies compare the two wars. Vietnam war in many respect was symbolic....we had to defeat Vietnam to show that democracy always wins....that didn't go as planned.....
but the war in Iraq is so much more....president bush and our soldiers have managed to claim hegemony in middle east. regardless of how we got there and who lied how much.....thats something for the liberals to cry about every day.....all i know is that we are there now and if we leave, then all these other countries like iran, saudis etc will want their piece of the pie and will try to claim regional hegemony.

Answer 7

Because Americans seem to be dismally ignorant of history, facts and complex thought.

I guess they read too many comic books?

Vets were screwed in Vietnam and they are being screwed in Iraq---in that sense the two wars are similar....asking young people to die in the wrong war with the wrong country while our enemies go untouched.

it's really hard to take sometimes, how bad our leadership is, and has been over the years.

Answer 8

Im married to a Cold War vet & am the child of parents who were very anti vietnam.
Im 29, and I think theres very definitely an element of wanting to be like our parents.
I stand firmly on the belief that we should formulate our own thoughts and beliefs on our own experiences,not just blindly adopt a previous generations mentality.I support our veterans & I support OIF.I have a many many friends who are over there - its hard to see them gone -and I want them home.But at the same time,they have a job to do - a calling that generations of men and women have felt compelled to do.They should never have been persecuted for it.
Thank you for serving.Bless you for coming home.

Answer 9

Read some history.

Robert McNamara, JFK and LBJ's Secretary of Defense, escalated a little backwater guerilla war into a quagmire that sucked a generation into quicksand and squandered our resources. In the process, the military industrial complex profited like never before.

Rumsfeld has done the same thing for Bush, and the U.S. and all her citizens, in Iraq. All coordinates match.

There is no mystery to this parallel, and you are incredibly naive if you think so.

Answer 10

I dont agree either but Iraq, like Vietnam, is an unpopular war in the general public's eyes. Also the length of OIF/OEF are "comparable" to Vietnam. These are just a few of the many reasons that people on the outside looking in make these comparisons.