Sunday, April 18, 2004
Comparing Iraq to Vietnam
"Once upon a time our traditional goal in war and can anyone doubt that we are at war? - was victory. Once upon a time we were proud of our strength, our military power. Now we seem ashamed of it. Once upon a time the rest of the world looked to us for leadership. Now they look to us for a quick handout and a fence-straddling international posture." ~ 'Why Not Victory?' - Barry M. Goldwater
Iraq is Vietnam not on the ground, but in our heads
Looking at the broader picture, the Vietnam War was merely a part of the larger Cold War, which the U.S. ultimately won. Just as Iraq is merely a part of the larger War On Terror, which the U.S. will also ultimately win due to our resolve. As rampant as terrorism may be in the world right now, its threat is mainly psychological, just as the Vietnam War was upon the overall American psyche.
The Vietnam War was a necessary sacrifice, just as John F. Kennedy's assassination was; though we lost the battle in Vietnam, we won the Cold War that it was merely a symptom of. And if we had stood by and allowed Communism to take over Southeast Asia without putting up a fight, then Communism would have grown stronger as a result of our inaction, rather than become weakened by U.S. intervention in its Southeast Asia expansion; our intervention resulted in Southeast Asia being thrown into chaos instead of Communistic order. Order that would have strengthened the Communist axis of power and very likely would have spread outside the region.
Though we lost the Vietnam War psychologically, we had succeeded in stopping the spread of Communism at that point, and ultimately contained Communism until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which subsequently ended the Cold War.
In this regard, Iraq must be won at whatever cost. The War On Terror demands a battlefield, and that battlefield is in Iraq. The war is legal in that the ends justify the means. We have liberated a nation from a ruthless tyrant that we helped to create. And in stamping out Saddam Hussein's oppressive regime, we have showed terrorists around the world that America means business, and is not afraid to sacrifice its young soldiers to the cause of the greater good.
In time, our resolve will prove to be our greatest and most powerful weapon in the face of terrorism. It is the same resolve that has won U.S. wars in the past. It is, indeed, the same resolve that created the United States as a nation in the first place.
To beat a horse dead shows cruelty. To beat a dead horse shows commitment.
(0) comments
Iraq is Vietnam not on the ground, but in our heads
Looking at the broader picture, the Vietnam War was merely a part of the larger Cold War, which the U.S. ultimately won. Just as Iraq is merely a part of the larger War On Terror, which the U.S. will also ultimately win due to our resolve. As rampant as terrorism may be in the world right now, its threat is mainly psychological, just as the Vietnam War was upon the overall American psyche.
The Vietnam War was a necessary sacrifice, just as John F. Kennedy's assassination was; though we lost the battle in Vietnam, we won the Cold War that it was merely a symptom of. And if we had stood by and allowed Communism to take over Southeast Asia without putting up a fight, then Communism would have grown stronger as a result of our inaction, rather than become weakened by U.S. intervention in its Southeast Asia expansion; our intervention resulted in Southeast Asia being thrown into chaos instead of Communistic order. Order that would have strengthened the Communist axis of power and very likely would have spread outside the region.
Though we lost the Vietnam War psychologically, we had succeeded in stopping the spread of Communism at that point, and ultimately contained Communism until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which subsequently ended the Cold War.
In this regard, Iraq must be won at whatever cost. The War On Terror demands a battlefield, and that battlefield is in Iraq. The war is legal in that the ends justify the means. We have liberated a nation from a ruthless tyrant that we helped to create. And in stamping out Saddam Hussein's oppressive regime, we have showed terrorists around the world that America means business, and is not afraid to sacrifice its young soldiers to the cause of the greater good.
In time, our resolve will prove to be our greatest and most powerful weapon in the face of terrorism. It is the same resolve that has won U.S. wars in the past. It is, indeed, the same resolve that created the United States as a nation in the first place.
To beat a horse dead shows cruelty. To beat a dead horse shows commitment.
(0) comments
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