Iraq and Vietnam war parallels By Altamush Ali

Iraq and Vietnam war parallels By Altamush Ali Jindani 2 nd period

�America has had many presidents who were war hawks. Not pointing fingers but our former president was one of them. There has been many wars in which the United States had fought. Both defeat and triumph was faced. Several different reasons led the United States to enter these wars. Some of these causes were fears and threats. Just like Vietnam war which was fought to stop communism from spreading into rest of Asia. Similarly, the latest Iraq war is being fought because of fear of further terrorist attacks and to stop the spread of terrorism in the whole world. Different times, different places but pretty similar causes. President Bush says, “The analogy [between Iraq and Vietnam] is false. ” I disagree Mr. president.

U. S. Soldiers in Vietnam It can be clearly seen that the U. S. troops are fighting a guerilla war in Vietnam (left) in which they hide behind objects and attack when they have a chance. One can also tell that the same strategy is being applied in Iraq (above) where the troops can be seen hiding behind a hill where they are looking for protection.

Iraq: NOT another Vietnam The tunnel at the end of the tunnel The two political cartoons show that the United States did nothing but created trouble itself by entering these wars of choice. The picture on the right shows the U. S. jumping a tunnel by entering Vietnam. Similar is shown in the cartoon about Iraq in which it is shown that a person is using a lighting candle to look into a flammable tunnel and endangering his life.

Another Iraq war anniversary Fourth Year of the “Plan to End the War” (Contd. ) Another similarity shared by the Iraq and Vietnam wars are that they were both lengthy and never ending. The Vietnam war lasted for about 16 years from 1959 till 1975 even though the first failed step towards peace was taken in 1964 when U. S. declined an offer of secret peace talks with North Vietnam. Similarly, Iraq has lasted for than 8 years now and is still continuing even after President Obama’s plan of removing troops completely which hasn’t happened yet.

U. S. Death Toll From this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety These political cartoons show that the United States is taking the hard way to make the peace. The on the left shows the number of troops lost in the Iraq war and Iraq is still dominant. The on the right shows Lyndon B. Johnson trying to reach the flower on top of a tree with thorns but still is not as successful as compared to the effort put in the war.

Anti-Vietnam war protests Anti-Iraq war protests Despite the protests against these war of choices, the presidents of time did not take a step to end the war which gained us nothing but depression and recession and an evil reputation to the people in other parts of the world. These pictures show the anti war feelings during both wars.

Thesis �Even thought these two events took place forty years from one another, they both show United States has never grown mentally throughout these years. America enters the wars which are violent and bloody and as everything is fair in love and war, the troops hunt down people without knowing if they are the actual people they are looking for. They kill women and children. This shows the slow decline of humanity throughout time and if this continues, humanity will soon be removed from dictionaries and minds.

Bibliographies � "THE WAR. At War | PBS. " PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http: //www. pbs. org/thewar/at_war. htm>. � "Parallels Between Iraq War and Vietnam War Are Piling Up. " The Progress Report -- Independent Daily News. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http: //www. progress. org/2004/fpif 48. htm>. � "Vietnam War: An Army Soldier's Story. " Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http: //www. glynn. k 12. ga. us/BHS/academics/junior/hunt/Brittany. C 12070/home. h tml> � "US Iraq Policy: Total Failure. " Discourse. net. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http: //www. discourse. net/2006/02/us_iraq_policy_total_failure. html>. � "Bush on Iraq Echoes LBJ on Vietnam : : September : : 2005. " Dear Kitty. Some Blog. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http: //dearkitty. blogsome. com/2005/09/21/bush-on-iraqechoes-lbj-on-vietnam/>. � "First Person Oral Histories - Robert Romer. " American Centuries: History and Art from New England. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http: //www. americancenturies. mass. edu/centapp/oh/story. do? short. Name=romer 1972>.

� http: //www. bendweekly. com/Opinion/Editorials/3746. html � "Bill Mauldin on Vietnam War (Imagination): American Treasures of the Library of Congress. "Library of Congress Home. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http: //www. loc. gov/exhibits/treasures/tri 202. html>. � http: //peoplesgeography. com/category/cartoonists/page/2/