Reasons and Consequences of Americas Military Involvement in Vietnam and Afghanistan - Research Paper Example

This paper would attempt to compare the reasons and consequences of America’s military involvement in Vietnam and Afghanistan. The Vietnam Conflict started in 1955 whereas the present Afghan Conflict started four centuries later, in 2001. Since recently, comparisons between the two conflicts have been made. Both wars started for entirely different reasons, Vietnam having more of an ideological leaning in essence. They have been bloody wars and the masses being largely idealistically in favor of peace have vehemently opposed America’s involvement in both conflicts. Although the Afghan war is still going on and for that reason, the consequences of the war cannot be completely compared; but since the end is predicted to come about in the near future, a comparison can be drawn with respect to the destruction and losses militarily and politically. This paper, while reflecting upon the background of the Vietnamese and Afghan wars, will draw comparisons between them and cover the causes and consequences that a gory war brings about with it. Initially, the United States had little interest in Vietnam. However, as it became clear that the post-World War II world would be dominated by the US and its allies as well as the Soviet Union and its fighting partners, isolating communist movements took an increased importance in America’s eyes. These concerns were ultimately shaped into the doctrine of containment and domino theory. The move towards containment identified that the goal of communism was to spread to capitalist states and according to America, the only way to stop it was to “contain” it within its present borders. Moreover, arising from containment was the concept of domino theory, which stated that if one state in a region were to fall to communism, then the surrounding states would inevitably fall as well. These concepts forced US to get involved in the Vietnam conflict. In 1950, to combat the spread of communism, the United States began supplying the French military in Vietnam with advisors and funding its efforts against the “red” Viet Minh (Hickman). According to an American senior journalist, with the initial objective of vanquishing al- Qaeda largely achieved, and the latest goal of luring the Taliban into a power-sharing deal out of reach, the main reason the U.S. is still at war in Afghanistan is inertia, and not for logical reasons. This is because the American military brass wants to show that its counter-insurgency theories work and “they are impressive theories developed by impressive men,” as furthermore stated by the journalist. However, it is imprudent to pursue them at massive financial and human cost as the threat is modest, and the United States risks defaulting on its debt (Beinart). Reflecting upon the reasons mentioned above for the armed conflict in both regions, American stated goal of the Afghan conflict is to deny the Taliban and its al-Qaida allies a home base from which to attack targets in the West, however the goal in Vietnam was to stop a communist-backed insurgency as America is a capitalist superpower. Furthermore, the US intervened in Afghanistan because of the 9/11 attacks, real-life terror strikes on the US mainland which left the entire American nation in a state of shock. In Vietnam, the military operation began based on a perceived communist threat that was presumed to exist, but was ultimately overstated (Crowley). The other anti-communist nations supporting Vietnam were not involved in the conflict as much as United States of America. This could also be because of the vast resources America possesses due to its celebrated hegemonic status throughout the world. It is important to note that the conflict in Afghanistan surpassed the length of the Vietnam War, and will become the United States’ longest war until the end of this year. Moreover, the Haqqanis and the Taliban are a similar threat to Pakistan and Afghanistan today and not as much to United States as the anti-America and communist organization, Vietcong (NLF) of the South Vietnam, was to America. The “New Republic’s” John Judis makes a strong case by comparing Vietcong to Taliban. He adds on to say that both militant organizations do not have broad support but have funding and organization and the ability to garner support against the foreign invader, United States (“How Afghanistan Is and Isn’t another Vietnam”). Moreover, the guerillas of the Taliban are similar to the guerillas of the Vietcong in Vietnam. They were also an insurgent group of local Vietnamese and warlords. Furthermore, coming on to the consequences of both wars, distinctions can be made about the loss of lives caused during the military combats. Today, 104 months later, about 1,000 U.S. service members and women have died in Afghanistan, along with nearly 300 British military personnel and others from NATO countries that have contributed to the International Security Assistance Force. Most of those deaths have occurred in southern Afghanistan, and more deaths are expected to take place in the near future as the coalition forces try to drive the Taliban out of Kandahar, which they still consider their spiritual home. Adding on to this statistics, most of those U.S. troops have died in the past two years; it is a casualty rate that has risen sharply compared to the years following the invasion (“Can Afghanistan Be Compared to the Vietnam War?”). However, the Afghan War cannot be compared to the conflict in Vietnam, which claimed some 58,000 American lives because of more conformist warfare, including pitched battles and guerilla combat (“Can Afghanistan Be Compared to the Vietnam War?”).“The Tet offensive in 1968 involved some 80,000 Vietcong and North Vietnamese soldiers in a series of coordinated attacks on cities in South Vietnam” (“Can Afghanistan Be Compared to the Vietnam War?”). It was challenged that the Taliban would be remotely capable of such an operation. The Afghan War is what military analysts term as “a low intensity conflict – a counter-insurgency campaign of small engagements and ambushes but not capable of pitched battles” (“Can Afghanistan Be Compared to the Vietnam War?”). Washington Post’s David Ignatis further goes on to compare the consequences of the Vietnam War to the Afghanistan war and states that Vietnamese didn’t kill as much as 3,000 Americans as the number quoted to be the amount of American servicemen lost in the Afghan war ("How Afghanistan Is and Isnt another Vietnam"). An important difference of the causes of both wars can be observed by considering the fact that the Vietnam War is a bigger ideological battle supported and financed by the superpowers. Communist Vietnamese intend to fight against the democracies which are part of a “giant game of dominoes that was played out on five continents” (“Can Afghanistan Be Compared to the Vietnam War?”). On the other hand, the Afghan War has been justified by United States based on culture and religion instead of a dominant political philosophy (“Can Afghanistan Be Compared to the Vietnam War?”). The military use the term “asymmetrical war” for the Afghan war. Asymmetric warfare signifies how a weaker side can successfully exert advantage on a stronger military power, demonstrating that power is not everything. When a military power, even as strong as that of the United States of America, goes into a foreign nation, the military personnel are not aware of all the nooks and crannies of the area. They may undisputedly have widespread air power, but they do not have land power. This is because it is very difficult to fight a ground war in someone else’s house. The locals know all the hiding places that the foreign military does not (Tapper). This is one of the reasons that the United States lost the Vietnam War, and a clear victory is not predicted to be coming its way in the Afghan debacle. The differences between Afghanistan and Vietnam are that Al Qaeda attacked the United States and the war is against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. These are our sworn enemies. Al Qaeda attacked over 3,000 innocent Americans on America’s soil. Vietnam never attacked America directly, but Unites States got involved in the Vietnam War to keep the communists out of Southeast Asia. America had no stakes in Vietnam, except perhaps for the oil of Sumatra and the rest of Southeast Asia. Moreover, the American diplomat Richard Holbrooke told National Public Radio states that, “Vietnam was not directly related to our national security interest in the way Afghanistan is.” He added, "Were there because of 9/11. And thats a simple matter of fact” (James). This shows the difference that the consequences of the Vietnam War would affect America’s ideological status; however, a loss in Afghanistan may threaten America’s national security as a whole. The most prominent similarity, in many political analysts opinions, is the matter of sanctuary. The Vietcong, also known as the National Liberation Front, and the North Vietnamese troops used Laos and Cambodia as sanctuaries; similarly, Taliban has used the tribal areas of neighboring Pakistan as a refuge. American President Richard Nixon invaded Cambodia in 1970 to strike the sanctuaries. The United States has been using drone aircraft against Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan; however, it does not have unprecedented support from Pakistan’s government and people for this action (“Afghanistan War Draws Comparisons to Vietnam War”). This is restated by the analyst Charles Kupchan of the Council on Foreign Relations who emphasizes that security and political considerations make the Pakistani authorities rule out any such options (“Afghan War Draws Comparisons to Vietnam War”). In both cases, the United States enemy used terrain and time of year to its advantage. The terrain of both countries has proved to be of great importance for the soldiers fighting against the foreign power. The terrain in Vietnam was tropical, with rainy seasons, extreme heat, and high humidity. Moreover, Afghanistan is rugged with mountains, poorly built roads, and extreme climate changes. The conditions mentioned above were alien to the American soldiers and they experienced harsh climatic conditions while fighting on the land. In Vietnam, the United States looked just like the French, and to the Vietnamese, they were the same. In Afghanistan, the United States looks just like the British and the Russians; there is little difference to the local people (Tapper). Moreover, Vietnam had a history of foreign occupation from the French and then from the United States. Afghanistan has a history of foreign occupation from the British in the middle 1800s, the Russians in the 1980s and now the United States from 2001 until the present time (Tapper). Therefore, it was easier for the Vietnamese and Afghan militants to gauge United States moves and strategies. Moreover, United States’ popularity has reached a downfall due to its military involvement causing destruction and loss of more than a million lives for its war against communism and war on terrorism respectively. The masses of not only America but from across the world have detested America’s role as being an exploiter of its superpower status. Few CNN polls since 2006 have shown a majority favoring the war in Afghanistan. The latest one from the end of May has just 42 percent in favor and 56 percent opposed its war in Afghanistan ("Can Afghanistan Be Compared to the Vietnam War?"). The military expert Robert Haddick reiterates the point further by mentioning that politics matter and like Vietnam, America’s interest in Afghanistan has become politically unpopular ("How Afghanistan Is and Isnt another Vietnam"). The present American president, Barrack Obama, is opposed to the similarities drawn between the case of Vietnam and the ongoing war in Afghanistan. This is mainly because America lost the war in Vietnam according to the popular belief system across the world and the similarities would further support the existing opposition’s claim for the current war efforts in Afghanistan. President Obama in his speech stated: "First, there are those who suggest that Afghanistan is another Vietnam. They argue that it cannot be stabilized, and we are better off cutting our losses and rapidly withdrawing. I believe this argument depends on a false reading of history. Unlike Vietnam, we are joined by a broad coalition of 43 nations that recognizes the legitimacy of our action. Unlike Vietnam, we are not facing a broad-based popular insurgency. And most importantly, unlike Vietnam, the American people were viciously attacked from Afghanistan, and remain a target for those same extremists who are plotting along its border” (Fallows). Reflecting upon the popular belief that Afghanistan is another Vietnam, Richard Holbrooke, who is serving as the administration chief diplomat to Afghanistan and Pakistan, told CNN that he has served in Vietnam for three and a half years because of which he is aware of certain structural similarities. He said, "But theres a fundamental difference -- the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese never posed any direct threat to the United States and its homeland. The people we are fighting in Afghanistan and the people they are sheltering in Western Pakistan pose a direct threat. Those are the men of 9-11, the people who killed Benazir Bhutto, and you can be sure that as we sit here today, they are planning further attacks on the United States and our allies." The remarks by Holbrooke come as critics have begun to air concerns that the president has either drawn himself into a potentially massive humanly costly foreign policy venture in Afghanistan (Stein). It can be concluded that the Vietnam and the Afghan conflicts are different and similar in the face of the reasons for which they came to the fore as well due to the consequences that the warfare brought about. Differences arose because of differing political scenarios existing in two different ages and the similarities occurring as both of them are popularly considered unjust wars affecting the civilians for stakes of the leadership of both countries, even though unsuccessfully countered by the diplomacy and leaders. Works Cited "Afghan War Draws Comparisons to Vietnam War." VOA. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2012. . Beinart, Peter. "Why Are We in Afghanistan?" The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 10 June 2011. Web. 17 June 2012. . "Can Afghanistan Be Compared to the Vietnam War?" Afghanistan Crossroads. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2012. . Crowley, PJ. "Afghanistan: Viewpoints on Whether US Should Stay or Go." BBC News. BBC, 14 Mar. 2012. Web. 17 June 2012. . Fallows, James. "Well, I Hope Hes Right." The Atlantic. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2012. . Hickman, Kennedy. "The Vietnam War: Origins." About.com Military History. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2012. . "How Afghanistan Is and Isnt Another Vietnam." The Atlantic Wire. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2012. . James, Frank. "Vietnam, Not Afghanistan, Still Longest War: Holbrooke." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 17 June 2012. . Stein, Sam. "Holbrooke: Afghanistan Is Not Vietnam." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 Mar. 2009. Web. 17 June 2012. . Tapper, Pam. "The Difference between Afghanistan and Vietnam." Daily Sundial. N.p., 8 Oct. 2009. . Read More