Parbattie Chetana 6/1/10
11 IB English MOD-5
Final Assessment: #1
Don't we ever learn from the mistakes we make and from the mistakes that others make?
It seems as though we just don't learn and make the same mistakes over and over again which is why history seems to repeat itself. The Vietnam War was one of those mistakes because the United States had no reason to involve itself in a war that didn't concern the American people or the nation. The Viet nam War and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan have some similarities and differences. When looking back at the Vietnam War and compare to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is the realization of history repeating itself once again.
The Vietnam War began in 1950's and officially ended in 1975. It was a war in progress just after World War II ended. It was a war between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. It is known to be the longest war in the history of the United States considering the fact that it lasted twenty-five years. North Vietnam was governed by the Communist party while the South was anti-Communist. The war was mainly about preventing Communism from spreading throughout the areas in Vietnam that were anti-Communist. According to Kennedy Hickman, “ ...the Japanese began to promote Vietnamese nationalism and ultimately granted the country nominal independence” which left half of the counrty to still be governed by the principles of the French and Communism. The ruler Ho Chi Minh became a dictator after “...French returned to take possession of their colony. Their entrance into Vietnam was only permitted by the Viet Minh” (Hickman Vietnam). Ho Chi Minh basically allowed the french back into Vietnam. The United States involvement in the Vietnam War was because the United States feared the spread of Communism and the Soviets trying gaining control of Eastern Europe, Korea, and Cuba. This started the Domino Theory which stated that if one country fell into Communism, then the countries in its surroundings would follow. Meaning it was the United State's job to intervene in the matter since it could lead to many countries becoming Communist and start another perhaps world war.
The war in Iraq and Afghanistan was fueled by 9/11 which followed George Bush's call on the American people for fighting the War on Terrorist. The war began in 2002 and the fighting is still going on today. 9/11 was an event that Americans were not expecting and witnessing such a tragedy left some people speechless and in grief but it also left many angry. So, at the time President George W. Bush decided to go on a man hunt overseas to the Middle East. He addressed the to the American people that the United States is looking for Saddam Hussain, who was once the President of Iraq and also Osama Bin Laden, who is supposedly the leader of the terrorist group called Al Qaeda. “...large percentage of the Iraqi people are opposed to the U.S. occupation. Recent intelligence reports suggest that support for the insurgents is widespread and growing. In some areas, Sunni and Shiite groups are joining forces, at least temporarily, in a common cause -- killing Americans.” This was due to lack of support from the U.S. Troops to the Iraqi people. Some got so angry which led them to go against the U.S. Troops (St. John Dead).
The differences between both wars was that it was fueled by different events. The Vietnam War was fueled by the end of World War II while the war in Iraq and Afghanistan was fueled by 9/11. The Vietnam War was fought in a jungle while the war in Iraq is being fought in a barren, mountainous land. U.S. Troops fought not only in different terrains but also in different types of weather. The Vietnam War had monsoons which would sometimes lead to flooding and it gave the soldiers a disadvantage. While fighting in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the weather is always hot and there isn't a lot of rain to cool down the environment that the U.S. Troops inhabitted. “...U.S. military has generally refused to account for civilian casualties in Iraq, in part because they are frequently huge.'' This angered the Iraqi people because to them, the United States was fighting for their independence from the Iraqi government. Vietnam didn't do anything devastating to the U.S. Therfore it didn't have actual reasons to be in the war. Now for the Iraqi War, we did have a some what reason to be involve since the collapse of the Twin Towers and the hijacking of the planes gave Americans a reason to declare war on terrorists.
The Vietnam War is similar to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan because the United States was fighting for a cause which was the people's independence from their government. The reason for fighting in both war was and still is unknown to many Americans. If you ask someone today, why we are fighting in Iraq, some would say weapons of mass destruction while others might say to find Al Qaeda. Just like the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, “American troops are fighting a guerrilla war in Iraq. The terrain is difficult, and the insurgents know it better than we do. The enemy attacks at a time and place of its own choosing, avoiding troop concentrations where U.S. firepower can be brought to bear.” This is an advantage the enemies in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam had over the United States Troops. Civilians of the coutries where the wars were fought always made it difficult for U.S. Troops to suspect who were their enemies and who were on their side. According to Ronald Bruce St. John, “...American troops are fighting a guerrilla war...” because no one knew where or when the enemies are going to attack. The soldiers are falling into boobie traps and many tricks that the enemies have up their sleeves. “There was no real plan for victory in Vietnam, and there appears to be none for Iraq.” The United States Troops withdrew from the Vietnam War because they realized that there is no way for them to win. Again it is happeining in the war in Iraq. There are some factors to take into consideration while still fighting in Iraq. For example we know that we can't win the war in Iraq, then why are the troops still there. As the years go by, those who are in combat are aware that they are still in a war but those at home just forgets the reasons for frighting in the first place. Americans are protesting to bring the troops home which is what most parents did during the Vietnam War. The results are that many died, civilians and soldiers, With the soldiers, they have no choice but to fight in order stay alive or be able to feed their families.
We as a nation, could avoid history from repeating itself by educating ourselves with the events that had occurred in the past and previous wars. By doing so, we should analyze the reason why we would want to involve ourselves in war in the first place. Think twice about who we're going up against and the geography of where we are fighting in. We should ask ourselves whether it is a right place or not for our nation to put its nose into matters that doesn't concern us or won't have any positive impact on the country at all.
As you can see, history does repeats itself without anyone even realizing it is happening. People are too caught up in the moment of their emotions which takes the best of them and leads them to make rational decisions. The United States should realize by now that by sticking our noses and fighting for the people of other nations won't get us anywhere. It's a lose lose situation because either you don't win and many people die.
