Iraq: A Vietnam for the 21st Century Research Paper

Introduction

In human history, all wars resemble each other still every war takes human lives and distorts the destinies of nations. The United States can still re-establish its credibility by pulling out of Iraq and letting the conflict resolve on its own.

The United States has arguably already lain down the framework for any democracy to begin by overthrowing the dictator. The recent sentencing of Saddam Hussein by the Iraqi courts shows that the Iraqis have taken an active role in determining themselves as a nation. The first step of any democracy is the removal of the oppressors, as with the United States when they fought for their independence. The next and most crucial step is to let the citizens of the nation decide if democracy is indeed the best form of government for them.

Democracy can never be shoved down anyone’s throat. The war in Iraq can be seen as a mirror of mistakes and the inability of the American government to evaluate the benefits and ganders of military invasion into a foreign country.

Discussion section

Vietnam: origins and history

The war in Vietnam is started with the single threat of communism. The U.S. government believes that the Communist system in its general form is a danger to the democratic system it follows and that its effect will be more apparent in the economical aspect. The U.S. is a firm believer in the Domino Theory. The Domino Theory states that if one nation in a certain region succumbs to Communism, the rest of the neighboring lands would follow (Colon 3z). Because of that, the U.S. decided to side with France to regain Vietnam, which is her former colony, during North Vietnam’s quest for freedom. Vietnam was lead by then strong Communist leader, Ho Chi Minh.

America believed that Vietnam is not ready to be free, especially not if it is going to be a Communist country. At that point, the nation’s Containment Policy was implemented to overturn the situation. The war in Iraq is a different story. “On September 11, 2001, American Flight 77 was steered by terrorists into the Pentagon’s southwest wall. Flights 175 and 11 of the United Airlines and American Airlines respectively crashed into New York’s World Trade Center” (Danchev and MacMillan 21n). Flight 93 the fourth airplane, crashed into a field instead of the White House because the flight crew and the passengers tried to retake control of it.

Democratic Iraq or New Vietnam?

These are the frightening instances that happened in just a single day in American history that had triggered the Iraq War of 2003. President George W. Bush, the incumbent president, believes that any form of terrorism is a global enemy that has to be destroyed. The starting point of these two wars is but lies. The Vietnam War commenced when then attacks in the Gulf of Tonkin happened. North Vietnam supposedly attacked an American warship (Record 22).

The incident produced that no soldier was hurt and the ship itself doesn’t seem to be damaged, but it was blown out of proportion by the war generals. Instead of taking it in stride since nothing is harmed, the war leaders used that incident to have a reason to strike back at the North Vietnamese army and start the war. In Iraq, the same thing happened. The terrorist attacks were traced to be the doing of a group called Al-Qaeda, which originated from the Taliban movement of Afghanistan. Afghanistan yielded but almost at the same convenient time, the government found out that Iraq is harboring weapons of mass destruction within its territory.

This is another good reason to start a war. “The government demanded the operations to stop, but Iraq did not heed the call” (Danchev and MacMillan 16). And so another war took place, against the same dictator Saddam Hussein, who seemed to have an unfinished business with the U.S. since the first war in Iraq, the 1990 Gulf War (Record 88).

Deaths Rates

In the Vietnam War, more than 429,000 American soldiers were sent into action. Of that number, 58,209 were killed and 153,303 were wounded. 58,209 brave soldiers were lost; soldiers who have families, friends, and lives. “In the War of Iraq, 2,683 American soldiers out of a troop of 48,000 died in favor of the Operation Iraqi Freedom. 20,322 of them were badly wounded” ((Danchev and MacMillan 43).

We needed to risk our own soldiers’ lives for the freedom of other nations. Amidst the turmoil caused by the war, it still droned on. The public opinion on both wars had changed. People are becoming wary that lives were lost unnecessarily. Both the Vietnam War and the Iraqi lasted for a year. And within that period, big armies are deployed. Soldiers are being sent in batches to aid in the war. Young military men are sent to war with the aid of the great generals.

In the Vietnam War, it had come to the extent that students and teenagers have been drafted. Young people, who should otherwise be investing for their future, are pulled out to serve as soldiers. Because of this, the students, as well as the rest of the American nation, began protesting the choice of war. The young people opened their minds and spoke out their opinions. They questioned everything and believed in nothing. The protests continued and were taken into the streets (Record 87).

Military operations

In the War of Iraq, the same thing happened, even though there were no drafts, people are beginning to see the costs and the unnecessary choice of war. The public aired out their opinions, violently in some places, and ruthlessly opposed the war and the sending of more soldiers into the battlefield. The wars had triggered the American public to take a stand for or against the government.

This prompted the need of the government to give the public reasons why the wars have to continue. They have to shower the nation with good developments as to how the war is going well, all for the favor of the American nation. And they have to do it with some lies because during the time of both wars, the American sentiment is so sensitive. “The public is in a stage of disarray, of economic grip because funds and resources are being channeled over to cover the war expenses, instead of to the more urgent needs of the people” (Levy 21). Financially, the war in Vietnam cost the American nation an average of 5.1 billion dollars per month.

In Iraq, it was roughly the same as 5.6 billion in a month. Again, the American involvement in both wars is around one year. A total of 61.2 billion dollars and 67.2 billion dollars of the nation’s money were dissolved in the war. The public opinion on both wars became all the more unpopular; that amount of money coming from the taxpayers themselves should have been used for health, housing, financial aids, and other critical social projects instead.

During the time of both the wars, America suddenly woke up in chaos. Unfortunately, though, the war still carried on. The government’s action to bring the citizens’ lives back on track becomes futile. The number of casualties kept rising as the wars droned on. News of soldiers being massacred, captured, tortured, and treated inhumanly filled the radios, television, and the Internet.

The innocent victims of war, the civilians, the women, and the children are paying for something they have no support for. Incidents like this always prompted an outrage. At this time the rest of the nations, are in divided positions about the wars. People of different nationalities suddenly become critics. They are looking for the person with so much power who is causing all the cruelty. They are looking for somebody to be held responsible. They wanted a name and a face to blame. The soldiers, as well as citizens, who have been and have seen the wars, were not able to live life as normally as they should even if the ordeal is over.

Records had shown that a lot of U.S. soldiers had experienced problems adjusting to the current society. The victims of war and terrorism had found it hard to move on with their lives, towards their future. These people who experienced the war weren’t able to forget the trauma and the grief that always comes with it. The people who have survived the war, have lost a part of their lives. Psychological disorders are common, both to the soldiers, and their families. Socially, physically, and emotionally, these wars had left immense marks (Record 212).

Nation’s response to wars

The American nation, as a whole, should learn the enormous lessons of these two wars. These wars had led to the loss of precious lives. Soldiers, military men, and war generals are real people (Hallenberg and Hakan 113). They are not chess pieces that can be taken out from their camps and ordered into a battle just like that. Although they are sworn into duty to defend the whole American nation, they have they are individuals who have the right to live a normal life the same way the people they are protecting do. “And above all, the battle they should fight must be a bottle of a worthy cause, not a battle of lies and deceit” (Levy, 87).

The cost of these wars is high. They crippled the nation’s economy. They put the whole American nation on an international stage of scrutiny, and ridicule even. The two wars exhausted the nation and they drained us out of political, natural, and social resources. With the onset of wars and the loss of lives, American foreign policy has to be evaluated. The necessity of the U.S. government to single-handedly contain communism and terrorism around the world should be examined. “A set of foreign policies has to be drafted, and those should serve as a guide for future international conflicts” (Levy, 65).

And it is important that the foreign policies not be amended just to satiate some war dog’s uncontrollable desire to get into war. It should strengthen the American resolve to stand in a righteous position when there is a need to intervene in military combat. The political leaders have to be transparent. They are tasked to make sound decisions for the welfare of the nation. And they are expected to deliver. Whether to engage in a war or not is their call, but their political positions should be changeable by their constituents. We, the citizens, should be given the chance to actively participate in the war’s decision process (Record 76).

Conclusion

Now that the advantages of continuing the conflict in Iraq have been discussed, the disadvantages must also be examined to provide a better understanding of the conflict and the risks involved. One of the advantages is that continuing the War in Iraq could lead to the creation of a model democracy in the Arab world and that such creatures could lead to other governments in the Middle East following suit. The reason for this is based on the lack of understanding that the governments in the Middle East have of the United States and U.S. policies.

By continuing the war in Iraq, the United States has a chance of installing a democratic form of government that could greatly affect the general sentiments of the countries in the Middle East regarding America.

Works Cited

Colon, Alicia. “Spinning The Reality of Iraq War”. The New York Sun 2006, pp. 3a, 4a.

Danchev Alex. & MacMillan John. The Iraq War And Democratic Politics. New York: Routledge, 2005.

Hallenberg Jan. & Karlsson Hakan. The Iraq War. New York: Routledge, 2005.

Levy, Debbie. The Vietnam War. Minnesota: Lerner Publications, 2004.

Record, Jeffrey. & Terrill W. Andrew. Iraq and Vietnam: Differences, Similarities, and Insights. Pennsylvania: Diane Publishing Company, 2004.