Is Iraq Another Vietnam

Author : Robert K. Brigham
Publisher : PublicAffairs
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2006-08-28
Category : History
ISBN : 1586484133

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Is Iraq Another Vietnam? by Robert K. Brigham Pdf

Since the first days of the Iraqi invasion, supporters of the war have cautioned the public not to view this conflict as another Vietnam. They rightfully point to many important distinctions. There is no unified resistance in Iraq. No political or religious leader has been able to galvanize opposition to U.S. intervention the way that Ho Chi Minh did in Vietnam. And it is not likely that 580,000 American troops will find their way to Iraq. However, there are two similarities that may dwarf the thousands of differences. First, in Iraq, like Vietnam, the original rationale for going to war has been discredited and public support has dwindled. Second, in both cases the new justification became building stable societies. There are enormous pitfalls in America's nation building efforts in Iraq as there were in Vietnam. But it is the business we now find ourselves in, and there is no easy retreat from it morally. As American frustration increases, some policy makers are making the deadly mistake of approaching problems in Iraq as if we are facing them for the first time. It is crucial that we apply the lessons of Vietnam wisely and selectively.

Author : Jeffrey Record
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
Page : 76 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Iraq War, 2003-2011
ISBN : 9781428910386

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Iraq and Vietnam by Jeffrey Record Pdf

Author : Kenneth J. Campbell,Richard A. Falk
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 137 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2015-12-03
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781317251033

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Tale of Two Quagmires by Kenneth J. Campbell,Richard A. Falk Pdf

Is Iraq becoming another Vietnam? Author Kenneth Campbell received a Purple Heart after serving 13 months in Vietnam. He then spent years campaigning to get the US out of the war. Here, Campbell lays out the political similarities of both wars. He traces the chief lessons of Vietnam, which helped America successfully avoid quagmires for thirty years, and explains how neoconservatives within the Bush administration cynically used the tragedy of 9/11 to override the "Vietnam syndrome" and drag America into a new quagmire in Iraq. In view of where the U.S. finds itself today -- unable to stay but unable to leave -- Campbell recommends that America re-dedicate itself to the essential lessons of Vietnam: the danger of imperial arrogance, the limits of military force, the importance of international and constitutional law, and the power of morality.

Author : David Ryan,John Dumbrell
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 257 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2007-01-24
Category : History
ISBN : 9781134135288

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Vietnam in Iraq by David Ryan,John Dumbrell Pdf

The essays in this book offer a series of perspectives on connections and parallels between the Vietnam War and the 2003 invasion of, and current conflict in, Iraq.

Author : Teddy Bitner
Publisher : Lulu.com
Page : 228 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2007-03-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781411656369

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Unreconstructed by Teddy Bitner Pdf

This book reviews America's journey from Vietnam to the War on Terror. Bitner assesses the myths of Vietnam and Iraq, the impact of the "Reagan Doctrine" on the end of the Cold War, and surveys America's wars of the 1990's.

Author : Jeffrey Record,W. A. Terrill
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 78 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2004-05
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1423516036

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Iraq and Vietnam by Jeffrey Record,W. A. Terrill Pdf

Unfolding events in Iraq have prompted some observers to make analogies to the American experience in the Vietnam War. The United States has, they argue, stumbled into another overseas "quagmire" from which there is no easy or cheap exit. Reasoning by historical analogy is an inherently risky business because no two historical events are completely alike and because policymakers' knowledge and use of history are often distorted by ignorance and political bias. In the case of Iraq and Vietnam, extreme caution should be exercised in comparing two wars so far apart in time, locus, and historical circumstances. In fact, a careful examination of the evidence reveals that the differences between the two conflicts greatly outnumber the similarities. This is especially true in the strategic and military dimensions of the two wars. There is simply no comparison between the strategic environment, the scale of military operations, the scale of losses incurred, the quality of enemy resistance, the role of enemy allies, and the duration of combat. Such an emphatic judgment, however, may not apply to at least two aspects of the political dimensions of the Iraq and Vietnam wars: attempts at state-building in an alien culture, and sustaining domestic political support in a protracted war against an irregular enemy. It is, of course, far too early predict whether the United States will accomplish its policy objectives in Iraq and whether public support will "stay the course" on Iraq. But policymakers should be mindful of the reasons for U.S. failure to create a politically legitimate and militarily viable state in South Vietnam, as well as for the Johnson and Nixon administrations' failure to sustain sufficient domestic political support for the accomplishment of U.S. political objectives in Indochina. Repetition of those failures in Iraq could have disastrous consequences for U.S. foreign policy.

Author : Lloyd C. Gardner,Marilyn B. Young
Publisher : The New Press
Page : 479 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2011-07-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9781595587374

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Iraq and the Lessons of Vietnam by Lloyd C. Gardner,Marilyn B. Young Pdf

Essays by Christian G. Appy, Andrew J. Bacevich, John Prados, and others offer “history at its best, meaning, at its most useful.” —Howard Zinn From the launch of the “Shock and Awe” invasion in March 2003 through President George W. Bush’s declaration of “Mission Accomplished” two months later, the war in Iraq was meant to demonstrate definitively that the United States had learned the lessons of Vietnam. This new book makes clear that something closer to the opposite is true—that US foreign policy makers have learned little from the past, even as they have been obsessed with the “Vietnam Syndrome.” Iraq and the Lessons of Vietnam brings together the country’s leading historians of the Vietnam experience. Examining the profound changes that have occurred in the country and the military since the Vietnam War, this book assembles a distinguished group to consider how America found itself once again in the midst of a quagmire—and the continuing debate about the purpose and exercise of American power. Also includes contributions from: Alex Danchev * David Elliott * Elizabeth L. Hillman * Gabriel Kolko * Walter LaFeber * Wilfried Mausbach * Alfred W. McCoy * Gareth Porter “Essential.” —Bill Moyers

Author : Robert K. Brigham
Publisher : PublicAffairs
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2008-07-22
Category : History
ISBN : 9780786731732

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Iraq, Vietnam, and the Limits of American Power by Robert K. Brigham Pdf

Since the first days of the Iraqi invasion, supporters of the war have cautioned the public not to view this conflict as another Vietnam. They rightfully point to many important distinctions. There is no unified resistance in Iraq. No political or religious leader has been able to galvanize opposition to U.S. intervention the way that Ho Chi Minh did in Vietnam. And it is not likely that 580,000 American troops will find their way to Iraq. However, there are two similarities that may dwarf the thousands of differences. First, in Iraq, like Vietnam, the original rationale for going to war has been discredited and public support has dwindled. Second, in both cases the new justification became building stable societies. There are enormous pitfalls in America's nation building efforts in Iraq as there were in Vietnam. But it is the business we now find ourselves in, and there is no easy retreat from it morally. As American frustration increases, some policy makers are making the deadly mistake of approaching problems in Iraq as if we are facing them for the first time. It is crucial that we apply the lessons of Vietnam wisely and selectively.

Author : Kale Baldock
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 96 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2005
Category : Iraq
ISBN : 0977206505

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Is Iraq Another Vietnam? by Kale Baldock Pdf

Author : Daniel P. Bolger
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Page : 565 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2014
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780544370487

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Why We Lost by Daniel P. Bolger Pdf

A high-ranking general's gripping insider account of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how it all went wrong. Over a thirty-five-year career, Daniel Bolger rose through the army infantry to become a three-star general, commanding in both theaters of the U.S. campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. He participated in meetings with top-level military and civilian players, where strategy was made and managed. At the same time, he regularly carried a rifle alongside rank-and-file soldiers in combat actions, unusual for a general. Now, as a witness to all levels of military command, Bolger offers a unique assessment of these wars, from 9/11 to the final withdrawal from the region. Writing with hard-won experience and unflinching honesty, Bolger makes the firm case that in Iraq and in Afghanistan, we lost -- but we didn't have to. Intelligence was garbled. Key decision makers were blinded by spreadsheets or theories. And, at the root of our failure, we never really understood our enemy. Why We Lost is a timely, forceful, and compulsively readable account of these wars from a fresh and authoritative perspective.

Author : Don Oberdorfer
Publisher : JHU Press
Page : 446 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2001-03-31
Category : History
ISBN : 0801867037

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Tet! by Don Oberdorfer Pdf

Finalist for the 1971 National Book Award In early 1968, Communist forces in Vietnam launched a surprise offensive that targeted nearly every city, town, and major military base throughout South Vietnam. For several hours, the U.S. embassy in Saigon itself came under siege by Viet Cong soldiers. Militarily, the offensive was a failure, as the North Vietnamese Army and its guerrilla allies in the south suffered devastating losses. Politically, however, it proved to be a crucial turning point in America's involvement in Southeast Asia and public opinion of the war. In this classic work of military history and war reportage—long considered the definitive history of Tet and its aftermath—Don Oberdorfer moves back and forth between the war and the home front to document the lasting importance of this military action. Based on his own observations as a correspondent for the Washington Post and interviews with hundreds of people who were caught up in the struggle, Tet! remains an essential contribution to our understanding of the Vietnam War.

Author : Lewis Sorley
Publisher : HMH
Page : 547 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 1999-06-03
Category : History
ISBN : 9780547417455

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A Better War by Lewis Sorley Pdf

“A comprehensive and long-overdue examination of the immediate post–Tet offensive years [from a] first-rate historian.” —The New York Times Book Review Neglected by scholars and journalists alike, the years of conflict in Vietnam from 1968 to 1975 offer surprises not only about how the war was fought, but about what was achieved. Drawing from thousands of hours of previously unavailable (and still classified) tape-recorded meetings between the highest levels of the American military command in Vietnam, A Better War is an insightful, factual, and superbly documented history of these final years. Through his exclusive access to authoritative materials, award-winning historian Lewis Sorley highlights the dramatic differences in conception, conduct, and—at least for a time—results between the early and later years of the war. Among his most important findings is that while the war was being lost at the peace table and in the U.S. Congress, the soldiers were winning on the ground. Meticulously researched and movingly told, A Better War sheds new light on the Vietnam War.

Author : Frank Newport
Publisher : Grand Central Publishing
Page : 205 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2004-07-30
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780759511767

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Polling Matters by Frank Newport Pdf

From The Gallup Organization-the most respected source on the subject-comes a fascinating look at the importance of measuring public opinion in modern society. For years, public-opinion polls have been a valuable tool for gauging the positions of American citizens on a wide variety of topics. Polling applies scientific principles to understanding and anticipating the insights, emotions, and attitudes of society. Now in POLLING MATTERS: Why Leaders Must Listen to the Wisdom of the People, The Gallup Organization reveals: What polls really are and how they are conducted Why the information polls provide is so vitally important to modern society today How this valuable information can be used more effectively and more...

Author : Jeffrey Record
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 88 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Iraq War, 2003-2011
ISBN : IND:30000139800936

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Iraq and Vietnam by Jeffrey Record Pdf

U.S. political and military difficulties in Iraq have prompted comparisons to the American war in Vietnam. The authors conclude that the military dimensions of the two conflicts bear little comparison. Among other things,the sheer scale of the Vietnam War in terms of forces committed and losses incurred dwarfs that of the Iraq War. They also conclude; however, that failed U.S. state-building in Vietnam and the impact of declining domestic political support for U.S. war aims in Vietnam are issues pertinent to current U.S. policy in Iraq.

Author : Gary R. Hess
Publisher : JHU Press
Page : 345 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2009-03
Category : History
ISBN : 9780801891243

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Presidential Decisions for War by Gary R. Hess Pdf

and the elder Bush, George W. Bush's White House actively sought to change the international order through preemptive war and aggressive democracy building." --Book Jacket.