The War on Terror

Is the current War on Terror inuenced by Americas involvement in the

Vietnam War, the Cold war and the Gulf war? YES.
By Tahlia Jackson

The way America has reacted and responded to the War on Terror has been inuenced by its past.
It is clear that Americas involvement in the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the rst Gulf War can
place Americas involvement in question. Why were they ghting? Was it for the benet of
themselves or the benet of others? Such inuences from its past have beneted the way America
has acted, while some have not. Through the close and careful analysis of the Cold, the Vietnam
and the rst Gulf Wars it is obvious, that these historical inuences have shaped Americas
involvement on the War on Terror.

For over half a century America has endeavoured to pursue an expansive international, political,
economic, military and cultural presence across the world. With such power comes great
responsibility. Americas inuence directly and indirectly effects the lives of billions of people. Such
inuence and domination led to hatred towards America by some people. After WW2 America
believed in promoting its interests to the world which left them unprepared for the murderous
hostility of the 9/11 attacks by the terrorist group al-Qaeda.

September 9th 2001 shocked America. Even the huge military strength and apparatus built during,
and after, WW2 failed to protect America during 9/11. In the aftermath of this terrorist attack
President George W Bush declared a global war on terror. A war to ght back on terrorism.

Bush vowed to America that al-Qaeda will be brought down . A vast variety of resources including
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human and nancial were allocated to this new war. This global operation included open and
covert military involvement, new security legislation and blocking nancial efforts to boost
terrorism. After hearing the justications of this attack by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Bush
described the terrorist attacks as evil .
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The mourning, anxious and angry American population were placed in a position to think that all
muslims are against the American way of life. It created discrimination and racist comments
towards those who follow the Islamic religion.

Our war on terror begins with Al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every
terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated
Throughout President Bushs speech on the 20th of September 2001 it was clear that America had
a responsibility to stop all acts of terrorism. This speech positioned the American citizens in such a
way that made the War on Terror seem justied and reasonable. The populous were at such a
weak and vulnerable point that such action made by the American government seemed like a fair
thing to do. Therefore they supported such actions, and believed at that point in time it was right
and fair. The speech echoed Bushs ideas of a battle as a way of life rather than a battle on
national interests .
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However, such a response like this can be seen throughout modern America history. The second
largest superpower in the world has a weapon of mass destruction, lets start a war. Communism is
taking over the Asia Pacic, lets start a war. Our oil supplies are compromised, lets start a war.
Although these are outrageous statements, it shows how in the past, America has responded to
Page of 1 8 Tahlia Jackson
George W Bush, President Bush Addresses the Nation (Speech), Sep 20th 2001
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George W Bush, President Bush Addresses the Nation (Speech), Sep 20th 2001
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George W Bush, President Bush Addresses the Nation (Speech), Sep 20th 2001
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The War on Terror
such issues by starting or continuing a war. It is clear that American political, economic and military
decisions are inuenced by its past.

During the Cold War American military strength was to counter the Soviet bloc. The collapse of the
Soviet Union brought easy victories for the US in Grenada, Panama, Serbia and Iraq. Such
success fuelled the overcondence in the ability of the United States to reshape other nations. The
inuence of the Cold War itself gave the US an economic, political and military condence boost.
America was now the unipolar power in the world. Such power and cockiness by the United states
some say left them vulnerable. The country was left in a state in which they believed that not one
nation or person could crack the metaphorical American powerhouse.
David Cole, of Georgetown University states that the Cold war and the War on terror were
unquestionably times of mass fear . This mass fear caused many problems for the American
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Government. During the Cold war era in America, suspects of secret communists activities within
the American government were targeted by Joseph McCarthy. He made claims of having known of
government departments and ofcials who had taken part in communist activities.
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Currently in the War on Terror such discriminatory behaviours continue in what can be known as
the new McCarthyism era. The government in 2001 were able to simultaneously repeat and not
repeat history by evolving its political and military tactics. On the 9th of November 2001 the
American State Department stated that it would slow the process for granting visas to young men
from Arab and Muslim nations in an effort to prevent terrorist attacks. Men and women from
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countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Syria and Pakistan all of a sudden become national
targets, and were suspected of terrorist behaviours. American muslims were red due to their
religion or national origin, some were even labelled as terrorists within American society .
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A historical comparison reveals that there has been a political evolution of repression during both
the Cold War and the current War on Terror.

For President Barack Obama, the current War on Terror is to Vietnam, as Vietnam was to Lyndon
Johnson. Both wars, vast and of tragic proportions, let the domestic agenda (health care, climate
change, nancial reform) to be derailed. The Vietnam War was a proxy war, coming out of the
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Cold War. The idea was that ghting in this war would continue to maintain security within America
and to contain the spread of communism.

Communism was a constant paranoia for all Americans during the time of the Cold War. Just like
the fear of terrorism is a constant paranoia for Americans today. America feared communism. As a
free world, America was committed to holding back the spread of such a ruthless political ideology.
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Cole, D. (2003) The New McCarthyism: Repeating History in the War on Terror (Internet),
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Georgetown University Law Centre, Georgetown USA. http://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/
viewcontent.cgi?article=1066&context=facpub
Amanda Latham Senator Joseph McCarthy, McCarthyism and the Witch Hunt http://
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www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/senatorjosephmccarthy.asp
Neil Lewis, Christopher Marquis (2001) Longer Visa Waits for Arabs; Stir Over U.S.
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Eavesdropping http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/10/national/10VISA.html
Susan Sachs (2002) A NATION CHALLENGED: RELATIONS; For Many American Muslims,
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Complaints of Quiet but Persistent Bias http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/25/nyregion/nation-
challenged-relations-for-many-american-muslims-complaints-quiet-but.html
The Economist (2013) The war on terror is Obama's Vietnam http://www.economist.com/blogs/
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democracyinamerica/2013/06/why-we-spy
The War on Terror
The answer to why America was involved in the Vietnam war is twofold. Firstly, in the US foreign
policy the principle focus was the containment of communism. No matter if you were a Democrat
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or Republican the threat of communism had to be halted.

Secondly, America had to mend its broken relations within the Asia pacic region. America had lost
China After China fell to communism in 1949 it was seen as a catastrophic failure by Harry S.
Truman and his fellow Democrats.

Both Vietnam and the current War on Terror had, and have, massive problems in distinguishing the
enemy. In both wars America was confronted with the citizens soldier, one who ghts and dresses
like a normal civilian.

Both enemies (Viet Cong and the Terrorists in the Middle east) are dressed in normal clothes and
are unknown to be an enemy or innocent civilian.

In Figure 1 the Viet Cong soldiers appear to just be normal Vietnamese civilians. While in Figure
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2 the men are seen to be wearing clothing
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associated with the Middle Eastern
culture.Both photographers have posed an
inherent question as to who are all these
men, civilians or enemies? Without a picture
titles the audience into the same position as
the American soldiers were in. It shows the
difculties in identifying the enemy.

This led to such tragedies like in the Vietnam
war the 1968 My Lai massacre, its mission:
destroy the trouble spot and all its
inhabitants which did include men, women
and children of all ages . In Ron
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Terence T.Finn America at War: Concise Histories of U.S. Military Conicts from Lexington to
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Afghanistan (New York: Penguin Group, 2014), p. 258.
Source http://voiceseducation.org/sites/default/les/images/Viet_CongSoldiers.png
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Source http://www.anunews.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/aa-Afghanistan-taliban-
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ghters-bombs-going-off-great-one-300x205.jpg
Ron Ridenhour (1969) A letter to the United States Congress http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/
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projects/ftrials/mylai/ridenhour_ltr.html
Figure 1: Viet Cong Soldiers Figure 2: Afghanistan terrorist group
Figure 3: Extract from Collateral Murder
The War on Terror
Ridenhours letter to the congress of the United States he positions the audience and the congress
to sympathise with the victims of such barbaric warfare and states his concern on how such
actions could have occurred . The Collateral Murder video, Figure 3 , leaked by Wikileaks shows
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the Iraqi shootings of suspected insurgents during the current War on Terror in 2007 . The
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helicopter identied these people and shot 12 of them dead. In the video it provides evidence to
who some of the innocent victims were, which creates anger and sympathy for the viewing
audience. Both Ron Ridenhours Letter and the collateral murder video are credible sources to
show the extent of the problem that civilian soldiers posed to the Americans.

Vietnam was the rst televised war . For the rst time the American public were exposed and
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confronted by the messy war that Vietnam was. One of the greatest inuences this had on the
current War on Terror was the importance of media control, and what was released into the public
domain. During the Vietnam War such photos like Figure 4 and Figure 5 were released in the
public domain. In Figure 4 , the audience for the rst time are placed in a position to see the
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extent of war and the toll it has taken on innocent people. The audience are positioned to see
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and value the American soldier as a hero, saving the poor naked children. In contrast, Figure 5 ,
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again the American public are positioned to see the extent of war in a brutal light.
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The piles of bodies symbolise the mass scale of the Vietnam war. The young, dead bodies
represent all those who are innocent and are victims of war. Such images brought massive
protests and rallies to American society and questioned Americas initial involvement.
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Ron Ridenhour (1969) A letter to the United States Congress, (Internet, letter) Phoenix Arizona
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America http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mylai/ridenhour_ltr.html
Collateral Murder (video), released in 2010 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0
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Photo form the Collateral Murder (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0
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Week 9 Reading: Dave Baker and Clarence Fitch, The War in Vietnam, from America
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Firsthand, eds. Robert D. Marcus and David Burner, pp. 312-320.
Nick Ut's Pulitzer Prize Winning Photo of Trang Bang after Napalm Attack (June 8, 1972)
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Nick Ut (photographer) 1972, Trang Bang after the Napalm attack http://ows.edb.utexas.edu/
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site/reimagining-vietnam-war/media-coverage-vietnam-war
Ronald Haeberle's Photo of the My Lai Massacre (March 16, 1968)
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Ronald Haeberle (photographer) 1986, My Lai Massacre http://ows.edb.utexas.edu/site/
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reimagining-vietnam-war/media-coverage-vietnam-war
Figure 4: Napalm attack
Figure 5: My Lai Massacre
The War on Terror
In the current War on Terror, it is said by the political and communications researcher Jim Kuypers,
that the press have failed America in its coverage on the War on Terror. Most coverage
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positions the photo to show the American bravery and compassion (Figure 5 and Figure 6 ),
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rather then the extent of the war.

The limit in complete coverage has added to the public confusion and misinformed nature of the
issue. Such limited perspectives by the American public again caused protests and rallies on
Americas involvement in the current War on Terror.

















When America left Vietnam, President Richard Nixon had pledged to South Vietnam that they
would come to their defence. However in 1975 Nixon was no longer president and his successor
Gerald Ford wished not to render the American assistance. America abandoned Vietnam. Such
questionable political decisions inuenced the government in 2006, during the War on Terror to
develop the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) . This ensures that the Middle East during
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this time would be provided with support to continue the spread of democracy, education would
thrive, economies would grow and women could be empowered. Such government intervention
and support ensures that the conditions before and after experienced in Vietnam wont happen to
the same extent in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The huge death toll in the Vietnam War encouraged the development of new technology to use
within warfare. The Gulf War of 1991 was the rst major conict of modern military. Americas
success in Kuwait is known to be dedicated to the use of advanced computer technology for the
rst time. Such a technology is the unmanned drones. It now became possible for action to be
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taken and recorded without the risk of human life. This technology opened many new doors for
new weaponry. The discovery of such technology has dramatically inuenced the ways in which
America is using weaponry in the current War on Terror.

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Jim Kuypers (2006) Bush's War: Media Bias and Justications for War in a Terrorist Age
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Source http://www.maggiesnotebook.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/
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Afghanistan_66-300x223.jpg
Source http://parlourmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/afghanistan-taliban-10-2.jpg
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United States department of State (2006, released April 2007) Country Reports on Terrorism
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http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/83383.pdf
Military Factory Gulf War Weapons (Desert storm) http://www.militaryfactory.com/battles/
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weapons-of-desert-storm.asp
Figure 5:
Figure 6:
The War on Terror
America continues to learn from and integrate its experience in wars, and warfare, in each
proceeding war zone. The war zones of the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War and War on
Terror focus on core principles. Specically democratic, political and economic goals, however the
operational aspects of communications, to the broader public, indicate that America has learnt from
each preceding war and developed greater control of the message to that public arena.

Similarly the government interventions from the Vietnam War to the War on Terror, especially in
Afghanistan, show a deliberate move from abdication of responsibility to one on reconciliatory
intervention.

Therefore the current War on Terror is inuenced by the Vietnam War, the Cold War and the Gulf
War.

WORDS: 2,035
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The War on Terror
Bibliography:
Articles/Books/Internet

Terence T.Finn America at War: Concise Histories of U.S. Military Conicts from Lexington to
Afghanistan (New York: Penguin Group, 2014), p. 258.

Joshua B. Freeman American Empire 1945-2000 (New York: Penguin Group 2012)

Rachel Maddow Drift: The unmooring of American Military Power (New York: Crown Publishing
Group, 2012)

Jim Kuypers (2006) Bush's War: Media Bias and Justications for War in a Terrorist Age.
Rowman and Littleeld Publishers

Bush, G W. (2001) Addresses the Nation (Internet). The Washington Post, America. http://
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/attacked/transcripts/bushaddress_092001.html

Amanda Latham (2008) Senator Joseph McCarthy, McCarythism and the Witch Hunt, Cold War
Museum, Vint Hill US http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/senatorjosephmccarthy.asp

Neil Lewis, Christopher Marquis (2001) Longer Visa Waits for Arabs; Stir Over U.S.
Eavesdropping. (Internet, newspaper article) New York Times, New York US http://
www.nytimes.com/2001/11/10/national/10VISA.html

Susan Sachs (2002) A NATION CHALLENGED: RELATIONS; For Many American Muslims,
Complaints of Quiet but Persistent Bias, New York Times, (Internet, newspaper article) New York
US http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/25/nyregion/nation-challenged-relations-for-many-american-
muslims-complaints-quiet-but.html

The Economist (2013) The war on terror is Obama's Vietnam (Internet) The Economist American
Democracy, America http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/06/why-we-spy

Ron Ridenhour (1969) A letter to the United States Congress, (Internet, letter) Phoenix Arizona
America http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mylai/ridenhour_ltr.html

Military Factory (2013) Gulf War Weapons (Desert storm) (Internet), America http://
www.militaryfactory.com/battles/weapons-of-desert-storm.asp

Week 9 Reading: Dave Baker and Clarence Fitch, The War in Vietnam, from America
Firsthand, eds. Robert D. Marcus and David Burner, pp. 312-320.

Howard Zinn, The Impossible Victory: Vietnam, A Peoples History of the United States, New
York: The New Press, 2003.
PDF Documents

Cole, D. (2003) The New McCarthyism: Repeating History in the War on Terror (Internet),
Georgetown University Law Centre, Georgetown USA. http://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/
viewcontent.cgi?article=1066&context=facpub

United States department of State (2006, released April 2007) Country Reports on Terrorism
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/83383.pdf

Richard Drake (2008) Reections on the American War on Terror: A corrective from the Pages of
History. Published by the Michigan State University Press Michigan. Refer to: The New
Centennial Review, Volume 8, Number 2, Fall 2008, pp. 67-85 (Article)

Pictures

Figure1: http://voiceseducation.org/node/351

Figure2: http://www.anunews.net/blog/?tag=taliban

Source 3: Collateral Murder (video), released in 2010 https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=5rXPrfnU3G0

Figure 4: Nick Ut (photographer) 1972, Trang Bang after the Napalm attack http://
ows.edb.utexas.edu/site/reimagining-vietnam-war/media-coverage-vietnam-war
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The War on Terror

Figure 5: Ronald Haeberle (photographer) 1986, My Lai Massacre http://ows.edb.utexas.edu/

site/reimagining-vietnam-war/media-coverage-vietnam-war

Figure 6: http://www.maggiesnotebook.com/2013/11/veterans-day-remembrances-then-
inbetween-and-now-the-war-at-home/

Figure 7: http://parlourmagazine.com/2010/09/afghanistan-rahm-emanuel-mayor-vancouver-
woman-paris-hilton-kanye-snl/
Video

Collateral Murder (video), released in 2010 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0

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