The US Current Mission in Afghanistan
After Barack Obama was appointed president, he declared the continuity of the war in Afghanistan. It was his priority in which he had a mission of defeating al-Qaeda and its troops. It was clear that he would not be able to make Afghanistan a modern state but he knew with the determination he had, he would be able to defeat al-Qaeda. He was supported by Robert Gates (the Defense Secretary) who was eager to see al-Qaeda’s fall.
He said there was no point in wasting much time building a Valhalla because it would increase their chance of losing. Richard Holbrook who was appointed as a point man over Afghanistan by Obama has gone to the extent of analyzing the aims of the Administration over Afghanistan.
During a conference in Washington, talks were held about the progress in America, and among the things discussed was the creation of more jobs, expansion of agribusiness, promotion of mobile banking, fight against corruption, and amendments to the justice sector. Holbrook read a policy that was to be adopted by the administration. The policy given by Holbrook did not expressly reflect how they were going to defeat al-Qaeda but it was itself a strategy.
He realized that the only way to render al-Qaeda powerless was to embark on a mission of nation-building in Afghanistan. It would look ironic how mobile banking was related to the fight, but thinking critically AL-Qaeda relied on smuggling of illegal drugs, and therefore enhancing mobile banking would mean easy access to banking services by farmers.
They would decline their reliance on the loans they get from drug dealers which is al-Qaeda’s source of finance (Ghosh 4). This will reduce al-Qaeda’s powers and increase the chances of Americans wining over them. Obama and his troops believe that the agenda on nation-building is the only tactic left for them. Even though it seems indirect, it might be the most effective in the long run. It seems it will be an expensive undertaking and they wonder how they are going to allocate the resources.
Role of the Government of the US in the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War occurred after the Second World War in Indochina. It was the second war in Indochina. It lasted from 1955 to 1975. It was a war between the communist from North Vietnam and the South Vietnam government. Communist North Vietnam was being supported by the communist allies while the government of South Vietnam was being supported by the government of the United States (Rotter 2). Communist North Vietnam relied on the use of conventional war while the government of South Vietnam in support of the United States government used air superiority and firepower.
The main reason for US involvement in the war was to prevent the communist from taking over South Vietnam. Although military power began in 1950, the US got more involved in the war from 1960 with its troops increasing in 1962. It was in 1961 when an economic and military aid treaty was signed between the US and South Vietnam. This saw an increase in the number of US troops and thereafter a Military Assistance Command was formed. In 1965, the US troops raided North Vietnam and some areas of the south which were being controlled by the communist. By then North Vietnam was being supported by other communist-controlled countries and the Soviet Union.
South Vietnam gained some political stability in 1967 when Nguyen Van Thieu was elected as president. The fact that the US had strong military power and that South Vietnam had political stability did not act as their strengths because they were defeated by, North Vietnam. This was a demoralizing attack because the US troops were optimistic about winning (Rotter 4). North Vietnam’s military force was more powerful and engaged in the use of more finances than the US military.
Similarities
Today, the situation in Afghanistan is becoming more complex and dangerous. President Barrack Obama is wondering about the best strategy to use or policy to employ in the current war to ensure that they do not lose like in the Vietnam War. There are similarities between what the US is experiencing today regarding the Afghanistan war and what it experienced about 40 years ago in the Vietnam War. Afghanistan is aimed at defeating the Taliban whilst in the Vietnam War the US troops wanted to defeat the communist. By the end of 2009 the number of American troops in the Afghanistan war was expected to be about 68,000 with a mission similar to the one held in Vietnam (Anon. “Afghanistan War Being Compared To Vietnam” 4).
Just like in the Vietnam War, the American troops are experiencing similar problems in their current situation. The major problem is the lack of resources and how to allocate them. Another similarity is that the US government together with the NATO allies have engaged in a fight with the Taliban who are black turbaned in a similar way like they fought the black-clad guerrillas back in 1960.
They have similar weapons to the ones used during the Vietnam War; the only difference is that they have made some modifications to the equipment and uniforms. The fight in the Vietnam War can be compared to the current situation in Afghanistan in terms of corruption. In the Vietnam War, they paid allegiance to the Saigon which was a corrupt government and the same applies to the Kabul government in the current situation.
In the Vietnam War, there was an increase in the number of troops at certain points of the war and the same is being done by Obama in the Afghanistan war. The only difference is that during the Vietnam War it was referred to as an escalation and today it’s being called a troop surge. There is a big similarity concerning sanctuaries. The Taliban have fled to Pakistan where they cannot be pursued by the American troops.
Pakistan’s government has tried to clear them but all in vain. The Americans are in a dilemma since they cannot invade Pakistan for political reasons although President Obama has tried to drive them out of their hideouts. Likewise in the Vietnam War, the song fighters sought refuge in Cambodia and Laos. The then-president Nixon wanted to clean them and invaded Cambodia in his effort to do so (Anon. “Can we Comparisons Afghan War to Vietnam” 5)
Contrast
There is a difference in the approach taken in both wars. In the Vietnam War, Americans became divided and could think of nothing else other than fighting. They were angered with the troops that were sent to fight and didn’t give them moral support.
The situation has changed; the troops are now appreciated and recognized for the risks they have taken. They have been supported even by people who are skeptical about war because they have learned that there is a reason for taking political issues on the troops. Most of the Vietnam soldiers were recruits who were not well experienced in fighting. Today, the army is composed of volunteers who have served in the army force for a long period. They have not been in the force and they feel part and parcel of the battle and have high self-efficacy (Naparstek 2).
In the 1960’s war, most people were not conversant with the idea of post-traumatic stress and the troops could not understand what was happening to them. After what had happened in the Second World War, the US government thought that limiting the time of service of the troops to one year would prevent them from getting post-traumatic stress. It seems to work because they returned from battle without showing any signs of it.
Little did they know that after 2 to 3 years they would develop post-traumatic stress. When this happened, they were traumatized just like in the Second World War. A lesson was learned and the new troop now is familiar with what is happening. The government has embarked on a mission of training them about post-traumatic stress and it is extending the service to the general public.
Unlike the 1960’s troops who were given illegal drugs in large quantities, the new troops are receiving legal drugs from doctors who have been placed in fighting theatre. The purpose of the drugs is to de-stress them so that by the time they are out of war, they are under less stress.
Works Cited
Anon. “Afghanistan War Being Compared To Vietnam.” The Eagle world news, 2010. Web.
Anon. “Can we Comparisons Afghan War to Vietnam.” Guluna. News, 2009. Web.
Ghosh, Bobby. “Afghan Mission Creep: Back to Nation-Building.” Time Inc., 2009. Web.
Naparstek, Belleruth. “Returning Troops from Iraq and Afghanistan Are Different from Our Vietnam Vets.” huffingtonpost. 2010. Web.
Rotter, Andrew J. “The Causes of the Vietnam War.” Oxford UP, 1999. Web.