Iraq, Vietnam, and the Limits of American PowerPublicAffairs, 22 июл. 2008 г. - Всего страниц: 240 Since the first days of the Iraqi invasion, supporters of the war have cautioned the public not to view this conflict as another Vietnam. They rightfully point to many important distinctions. There is no unified resistance in Iraq. No political or religious leader has been able to galvanize opposition to U.S. intervention the way that Ho Chi Minh did in Vietnam. And it is not likely that 580,000 American troops will find their way to Iraq. However, there are two similarities that may dwarf the thousands of differences. First, in Iraq, like Vietnam, the original rationale for going to war has been discredited and public support has dwindled. Second, in both cases the new justification became building stable societies. There are enormous pitfalls in America's nation building efforts in Iraq as there were in Vietnam. But it is the business we now find ourselves in, and there is no easy retreat from it morally. As American frustration increases, some policy makers are making the deadly mistake of approaching problems in Iraq as if we are facing them for the first time. It is crucial that we apply the lessons of Vietnam wisely and selectively. |
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adminis agenda al-Qaeda in Iraq allies America's Longest argued Argument without End armed forces attacks Baghdad believed bombing building Bush administration Bush White House Carter coalition communists Congress critics debate democracy democratic Despite domino theory economic elections enemy Fallujah fear goal groups Gulf Hanoi Ibid insurgency invasion Iraq and Vietnam Iraq Syndrome Iraq War January John Johnson Library Kennedy Kissinger leaders liberal limited Lyndon Johnson major McNamara ment Middle East Minh nation-building effort National Security neoconservatives Nixon North Office pacification party PAVN PLAF political Powell President Bush presidential problems public opinion region resolution RVNAF Saddam Hussein Saigon Secretary of Defense Senate Shiites social South Vietnam Soviet strategy suggested Sunnis surge terrorists Thieu tion U.S. Army U.S. forces U.S. foreign policy U.S. military U.S. policymakers U.S. troops U.S. withdrawal United University Press Vietnam and Iraq Vietnam War Vietnamese war in Iraq Westmoreland York
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Стр. 4 - Vietnam represents the cornerstone of the Free World in Southeast Asia, the keystone to the arch, the finger in the dike. Burma, Thailand, India, Japan, the Philippines and, obviously, Laos and Cambodia are among those whose security would be threatened if the red tide of Communism overflowed into Vietnam.
Стр. 12 - The integrity of the US commitment is the principal pillar of peace throughout the world," Rusk wrote in 1965. "If that commitment becomes unreliable, the communist world would draw conclusions that would lead to our ruin and almost certainly to a catastrophic war.