Why Dampening Situations in Iraq are Similar to Those in Vietnam

“U.S. President decided to wage a war against a despotic state which he judged threatening. Evidences based on the wrong information were given, and the U.S. Congress passed a resolution supporting the president’s decision. War started with ground army being committed at the same time as bombing. The president and the secretary of Defense were confident of immediate success. The U.S. army, however, was confronted with fierce resistance and terrorist attacks and damage was increasing day by day. Guerilla fighting was launched, but there were only a few U.S. allies. Approval ratings for the president started to plunge, and ceaseless casualties of U.S. troops and countless war expenses led to the worsening of public opinion toward the war…”

This is not the story of the war on Iraq, but a brief history of Vietnam War which Max Cleeland, management director of the U.S. Veteran Association stated. The U.S. president is Lyndon B. Johnson, the secretary is Robert McNamara, and the false evidence is the Tonkin Gulf Incident. Nightmares of Vietnam War are being refreshed in the U.S. “Suicide bombing exploded on October 27, the first day of Ramadan reminds us of the Tet Offensive which was a cause of U.S. troops’ withdrawal,” Washington Post said on October 28. “The Iraqi War is proceeding in an overwhelmingly similar way to the Vietnam War. We couldn’t leave Vietnam even since 1975,” MSNBC reported on October 29.

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