IRAQ / VS / VIETNAM,, i know most of you yahooers are to young to remember vietnam?

Question

but they are the same,, ok ok i am an old guy and retired marine, but here it is, the govt wouldnt let us win vietnam and they arent going to let us win iraq, in vietnam we took a village then left, we took a hill then left, the enemy always came back, the same holds true for iraq, you cant go into cities and then leave, you have to stay as a major force in every town and we are not doing that, and we dont have the manpower to do that, the iraqis like the vietnamese are not doing 100 percent so it doesnt matter if we leave today or ten years from now, because fanatics will always be there to take over, if we leave next week we save american boys lives, your comments please

HEY NOTHING,, ITS GOING TO HAPPEN ANYWAY

STEVE,, IT AINT OVER UNTIL ITS OVER

Answer 1

you stated the same view as many of my relatives who were also in Vietnam stated..after WWII, war was no longer fought by the military but was/is micro-managed by congress. most of whom have never server in the war time military.

i became a war protester but for other reasons...the main one being that we had no intention of fighting to win so then any life of an American soldier was too precious to sacrifice for these agenda.

two of my cousins, who are Lieutenant Colonels (ret) related to me many of the circumstances that prevented them from fighting the war in Vietnam effectively. they were Captains during the Vietnam war.

my son followed in their footsteps and has made the military his career. he is currently a Major in the US Army and soon will make his promotion, i am very proud of all of them and their service to our country.

as long as congress continues to make military decisions rather than allow those trained in the military to make the best decisions possible as to strategy, then America will never win another war.

If congress had been able to do this during WWII, the outcome would have been drastically different and so would our world.

the best way to save our soldier's lives is to allow them to do the job they were sent to do.

Answer 2

I've always seen the similarity between the two wars, I feel like I'm living through the same hell I lived through before. The difference that I see is that with Viet Nam there was a government in place, two governments, South and North. We weren't really wanted there, and got involved due to the French, who were smart enough to get out and leave us with the mess. We stayed because we believed in the Domino theroy, HA, which turned out to be a myth, but at least we knew if we left the South would fall, and there was a government in the North that could take over.
Here we have a problem, there is no government, all we had was Saddam, and he is gone. There is no other strong figure, and there are three seperate Muslim groups, each who wants to take over and kill the other two. We leave, all hell breaks out, we don't leave behind a government to take over. We leave behind a continuing war. But, is it our problem, yes, we caused the mess, so we have to clean it up. Or at least we have to try and set up some form of government that will last for a few months while we pull out and then they can go back to killiing each other, but at least we can say we left there and all was quiet. We have no more chance of winning here than we did of winning in Viet Nam, but we don't have a fall back position. Bush is totally screwed.

Answer 3

The most important analogy between Vietnam and Iraq is this: that all our military victories were/are completely irrelevant. This is because we did not have the support of the Vietnamese people just like we didn't *actually* have that much support from the Iraqis- and the little we did have we have completely squandered.

Why would a foreign army be able to help stabilize, in the long term, (not simply create a proxy government that is illegitimate) a region that is fighting a civil war? A civil war that has been in fact exacerbated by foreign interference? (Also applies to both Vietnam and Iraq)

Answer 4

I am surprised at you my fellow Marine (Vietnam Era).
The greater enemy is here in the media and with certain sector of government trying to raise the white flag. If we had bailed out on Japan after bombing then into surrender, do you think that they would be where they are today. Would Japan be our greatest friend in all the world? Granted Germany is now becoming a sore spot on our side, but they too enjoyed a strong relationship with us. Where would South Korea be today if we raised the white flag and let North Korea take over.
So, what we saw in Vietnam happen because we let the liberals dictate, will happen likewise in Iraq.
Semper Fi

Answer 5

I think it was not the government that kept us from winning but the tenaciousness of the Vietnamese. They were a much more disciplined than the Iraqis. We would have had to kill all the Vietnamese to win that war...

The same misconceptions about the enemy there abound in Iraq with this adminstration.

Answer 6

Hey Old Gyrene, Why so glum?, I made 4 trips to that last badly-run war, and I actually believe the American people learned something from all the mistakes made there. I mean, sure, it took them 25 or 30 years to Welcome Us home, but I don't believe that anyone who witnessed our shameful departure from that green hell, would ever want to see those scenes replayed.
Evidently, George Bush was too drunk, or high, to remember that sad day's tragic events, or the fact that some 58,000 of our brother warriors never made it home, and he's certainly forgotten the ruined lives of hundreds of thousands of Us who's lives never quite worked out.
I was going to say, that if they had let the military run this war, it might be different, but if Colin Powell, and the other Military folks had had their say, we wouldn't be there anyway !
Anyhow, I hope and pray every day, that somebody with the guts and intelligence required, wins these next elections, and brings our brave young people home with their heads held high. I also hope you and I, and other old soldiers, sailors, fly-boys and Marines, will welcome these kids home, and kick the miserable crap out of anyone who tries to shame or humiliate these young hero's for serving the country they love. Damn, I wish I'd learn to be brief !

Answer 7

In truth, unless they stop tieing the hands of our armed forces, you are right. They should allow them to do whatever is needed to get the jobdone, done right, and in a timely fashion. That said, I diagree that iraq and Vietnam are the same, we paid a much higher toll in blood and bodies in Vietnam.

Answer 8

I agree 100%. This war is lost, as are the Iraqis, to the culture of violence, ignorance and intolerance that IS that part of the world. We were wrong to invade, and Mr. Bush was naive to think that he could ride in like a knight in shining armor and take credit for "saving" Iraq. There are no winners possible here, only losersw, and Bush's actions have have left a vacuum there that is sure to be filled by worse than Saddam Hussein (I was no fan of his either).

Answer 9

The parallels to Viet Nam are chilling and they continue to grow with every passing day, every downed blackhawk, and every family weeping.

I am old enough to remember Viet Nam. I lost many close friends and a few relatives there. It was always one more push, one more escallation, one more seek and destroy mission. There was no military strategy so there was no way to win, no measurable objectives.

Iraq is no different. Now in its 5th year, this war will drag on and on. The draft will come back because we can't sustain the level of troops past the end of next April.

These kids who use Yahoo answers have no idea what's in store for them. They are blinded by slogans and ideologies.

We will fill 1000 cemetaries before the message gets through to the dense: might does not make right.

The only canidate running today with a sensible and responsible plan for ending the war is Joe Biden. I suggest everyone study his plan; it is gaining acceptance even in the White House. www.planforiraq.com

Answer 10

I'm old enough to remember how our soldiers were treated when they came home from Vietnam. And I would hope, that if we learned one thing, we learned to not mistreat our soldiers.

I also have had an education about Vietnam, and how we got into it, and our reasons were sketchy and involved French imperialism.

I personally believe the war against terror is a valid war.