Publication

US political and military difficulties in Iraq have prompted analogies to the war in Vietnam. This monograph analyzes these comparisons by looking for the similarities, differences, and potentially constructive lessons of the Vietnam War for those dealing with the challenges in Iraq. The paper concludes that the military dimensions of the two conflicts bear little comparison. Among other things, the sheer scale of the Vietnam War in terms of forces committed and losses incurred dwarfs that of the Iraq war. Nevertheless, it also concludes that failed US state-building in Vietnam and the impact of declining domestic political support for US war aims in Vietnam are issues pertinent to current US policy in Iraq.