Iraq is NOT Vietnam!

[Kregener]

Iraq Is NOT Vietnam (http://www.lewrockwell.com/cox/cox12.html)
by Jim Cox

A rising concern that Iraq is becoming the new Vietnam has prompted many commentators to denounce any such comparisons as too ridiculous to be entertained. Here’s a comparison of Iraq limited to 2003–2004 to match the first two years of US ground troop involvement in fighting in Vietnam, 1965–1966 to show the difference:

1. Commander-in-Chief?
Iraq 2003–2004
Texan, George W. Bush (with stateside duty during Vietnam war)
Vietnam 1965–1966
Texan, Lyndon B. Johnson (with stateside duty during World War II)

2. Justification for invasion?
Iraq 2003–2004
Based on deceptions – WMD, 9/11, aluminum tubes, etc
Vietnam 1965–1966
Based on deceptions – Gulf of Tonkin

3. US Casualties?
Iraq 2003–2004
1,432 killed, 3,000+ wounded
Vietnam 1965–1966
3,910 killed, 5,000+ wounded

4. War Declared by Congress as required by US Constitution?
Iraq 2003–2004
No, instead a resolution authorizing the president to take action he deems necessary
Vietnam 1965–1966
No, instead a resolution authorizing the president to take action he deems necessary

5. Enemy?
Iraq 2003–2004
Not a nation, but an abstraction – terrorism
Vietnam 1965–1966
Not a nation, but an abstraction – the spread of communism

6. Frontlines?
Iraq 2003–2004
No frontlines, guerilla resistance
Vietnam 1965–1966
No frontlines, guerilla resistance

7. President makes TV appearance to reassure Americans of the necessity of the war?
Iraq 2003–2004
Yes, after 2 years – 2005
Vietnam 1965–1966
Yes, after 3 years – 1968

8. Handling of the Federal Budget?
Iraq 2003–2004
Guns and butter policy
Vietnam 1965–1966
Guns and butter policy

9. Party in control of Congress?
Iraq 2003–2004
No check and balance as Congress is in the hands of the same party as the Presidency
Vietnam 1965–1966
No check and balance as Congress is in the hands of the same party as the Presidency

10. Troops?
Iraq 2003–2004
Enlistments buttressed by deployment extensions, and National Guard and Reserves
Vietnam 1965–1966
Enlistments buttressed by draft

11. Troops in country?
Iraq 2003–2004
140,000
Vietnam 1965–1966
200,000

12. Alliance?
Iraq 2003–2004
minimal troops from allied countries
Vietnam 1965–1966
minimal troops from allied countries

13. History of country?
Iraq 2003–2004
former colony of a European power (Britain, 1917–1932)
Vietnam 1965–1966
former colony of a European power (France, 1887–1954)

14. Hoped for Solution?
Iraq 2003–2004
Iraqification
Vietnam 1965–1966
Vietnamization

15. Most extreme suggestion?
Iraq 2003–2004
Michael Savage: "Drop a nuclear bomb on the Sunni triangle."
Vietnam 1965–1966
Curtis LeMay: "Bomb them back to the stone age."

16. Poisonous weapon used?
Iraq 2003–2005
depleted uranium
Vietnam 1965–1967
agent orange

17. Administration’s response to soldier complaints of being poisoned by US weapons?
Iraq 2003–2005
denial
Vietnam 1965–1967
denial

18. US troop deaths?
Iraq 2003–2007
3,798
Vietnam 1965–1967
16,159

19. Troops in country during 3rd year?
Iraq 2003–2005
160,000
Vietnam 1965–1967
500,000

20. US troop deaths per troops in country?
Iraq 2003–2005
136 per 10,000
Vietnam 1965–1967
300 per 10,000

21. Number of President’s children of military age?
Iraq 2003–2005
2
Vietnam 1965–1967
2

22. Number of President’s children serving in military?
Iraq 2003–2005
0
Vietnam 1965–1967
0

23. Strange concept of liberation applied?
Iraq 2003–2005
We had to destroy it to save it
Vietnam 1965–1967
We had to destroy it to save it

24. Who have war supporters blamed for lack of quick victory?
Iraq 2003–2005
news media, war protestors
Vietnam 1965–1967
news media, war protestors

25. Who have war supporters not blamed for lack of quick victory?
Iraq 2003–2005
administration war planners
Vietnam 1965–1967
administration war planners

26. Language, history, and customs unknown to American soldiers on the ground?
Iraq 2003–2005
yes
Vietnam 1965–1967
yes

27. Election held to choose head of state of country?
Iraq 2003–2005
December 15, 2005
Vietnam 1965–1967
October 21, 1967

28. Monthly cost to US for operations in country (in 2004 dollars)
Iraq 2003–2005
$5.6 billion
Vietnam 1965–1967
$5.1 billion

29. Member of US Congress calls for withdrawal?
Iraq 2003–2005
John Murtha D-PA
Vietnam 1965–1967
Eugene McCarthy D-MN

30. Term increasingly applied to US involvement?
Iraq 2003–2005
quagmire
Vietnam 1965–1967
quagmire

31. Commander of US forces ponders increase in troops in fourth year of war?
Iraq 2003–2006
George Casey by 15%
Vietnam 1965–1968
William Westmoreland by 40%

32. Justification for the war?
Iraq 2003–2006
domino theory
Vietnam 1965–1968
domino theory

33. Head of state and former ally removed by US?
Iraq 2003–2006
Hussein
Vietnam 1965–1968
Diem

34. US troops deaths?
Iraq 2003–2006
3,004
Vietnam 1965–1968
30,559

35. Troops in country during 4th year?
Iraq 2003–2006
130,000
Vietnam 1965–1968
537,000

36. US troop deaths per troops in country?
Iraq 2003–2006
231 per 10,000
Vietnam 1965–1968
569 per 10,000

37. US troop deaths per troops in country based on 1968 medical technology?
Iraq 2003–2006
346 per 10,000
Vietnam 1965–1968
569 per 10,000

38. Number of battles US forces lost?
Iraq 2003–2006
1
Vietnam 1965–1968
0

39. Relevance of the number of battles US forces lost?
Iraq 2003–2006
not relevant
Vietnam 1965–1968
not relevant

40. Patrol Boats used on rivers?
Iraq 2003–2006
River Patrol Boats used for first time since…Vietnam
Vietnam 1965–1968
4,500 sailors on 450 boats

41. Massacre prompted by frustration of fighting guerillas?
Iraq 2003–2006
Haditha
Vietnam 1965–1968
My Lai

42. Veterans organize to oppose the war?
Iraq 2003–2006
Yes
Vietnam 1965–1968
Yes

43. President’s Approval Rating?
Iraq 2003–2006
Bush, 30%
Vietnam 1965–1968
Johnson, 43%

44. Elections result in political change in a branch of government due to war?
Iraq 2003–2006
Yes, 2006 - House and Senate from Republican to Democrat
Vietnam 1965–1968
Yes, 1968 - President from Democrat to Republican

45. Secretary of Defense eventually acknowledges futility of effort?
Iraq 2003–2006
DOnald Rumsfeld resigns December 18, 2006
Vietnam 1965–1968
Robert McNamara, in 1995

Thus, we can all take comfort securely in our knowledge that Iraq is not Vietnam; Vietnam is spelled with a "V" and is in Southeast Asia, Iraq is spelled with an "I" and is in Southwest Asia. So, what is the difference between Iraq and Vietnam? Answer: George Bush knew how to get out of Vietnam!

February 17, 2007

Jim Cox send him mail is an Associate Professor of Economics and Political Science at the Lawrenceville Campus of Georgia Perimeter College and the author of The Concise Guide to Economics and Minimum Wage, Maximum Damage.

[khorbis]

Distribution-worthy stuff - assuming it's at least 10% accurate. If you want to establish true credibility, then please list your sources. Otherwise, many people will question your authenticity. I, for one, do not (or why would you have bothered posting?).

You are now on my Ron-Paul-note-worthy-material-list, sir. Thank you for your contribution.

[ronpaulfan]

Great post. I can't stand all the spin from the a-holes on AM radio

[plopolp]

But one difference is that North Vietnam had direct backing by advanced communist superpowers who equiped them with items such as anti-air missiles and artillery.

The fighters in Iraq on the other hand, is just a bunch of illiterate farmers using whatever guns and explosives still left over from the pre-boycott Saddam army of the 1980s, and who are involved in a civil war against each other as much as against the americans...

[noxagol]

I concur with this analysis. Iraq is certainly not Vietnam. The people would not want another Vietnam war on our hands.

[fluoridatedbrainsoup]

It's only because we lack a critical mass subculture like existed in the sixties vis a vis the music of the time. Rock and roll has been dead for a long time, and the establishment killed it from the inside for a good reason.

[ZippyDSMlee]

But one difference is that North Vietnam had direct backing by advanced communist superpowers who equiped them with items such as anti-air missiles and artillery.

The fighters in Iraq on the other hand, is just a bunch of illiterate farmers using whatever guns and explosives still left over from the pre-boycott Saddam army of the 1980s, and who are involved in a civil war against each other as much as against the americans...

It just goes to show when goverment is working for corporate interests or the interests for thos who are in power, politics being the hobby of the rich why should wars not be the same.

Iraq was a snow job on the US public and now what is it another Korea only with dozens of personal deaths every year?

Its good to help others but are you willing to remove your hand,fingers or legs to do it.

I do not know of any easy way out other than letting a "controlled" theocratic goverment setup shop there or splitting it 3 ways so they can in fight all they want on the boarders its a mess and Bush.co made it so, or I should say Chaney.co since Bush can't think without strings attached...