Sofia Corrales, Kiah Beachler, Maybelle Patterson

May 6, 2019

1960’s Interdisciplinary : Wars Without Exit Strategies

Thesis: The United States should not engage in wars without exit strategies, like the Vietnam,

Iraq, and Afghanistan wars, because these conflicts often end in the return of violence, the

destruction of war zones, and the loss of the war.

● More than 3 million people died in the vietnam war - more than ½ of the people who died

were vietnamese citizens

● “Also, the United States knew very little about either Vietnam or Iraq before it became

mired in conflict.”

● It was not known until many years later if the U.S. effort in Vietnam made an impact, and

it will probably not be known until many years in the future whether the US will have a

positive impact in Iraq. platform 9 ¾

● Bush said that we are going to war with Iraq because Saddam had weapons of mass

destruction, but it is unclear whether he actually had any - the US looked and couldn’t

find any

● The president at the time thought that there was a moral obligation to engage in the Iraq

war (because after the Cold War, the US was the only superpower), but it is hard to

distinguish what is moral

● The US wanted to recreate the world order by making Iraq a democracy

● As both wars went on, the public opinion of them declined because little progress was

made.
● Even if peace is achieved in these types of wars, the US must remain in control and

supervise the country, which makes the war almost never ending.

● “​The ultimate outcome in Iraq is unknowable now.

● Americans are afraid of pulling out of Iraq because of what happened after America

pulled out of Vietnam. Like Vietnam, Iraq would most likely descend into chaos because

of the likelihood of terrorist organizations coming to power.

● These are two of the most costly wars in American history.

● “​We certainly didn't win in Vietnam," said Hugh Bassette, an infantryman during the war

in Southeast Asia, "and we're not going to the win in Afghanistan and Iraq, either."

● There also wasn’t a “policy process” when deciding whether or not to begin a war in Iraq.

It wasn’t discussed or debated, no one tried to get the public’s support on it. It was just

decided there would be a war, and one was started. On the other hand, the decision to

begin U.S. intervention in Vietnam was carefully planned out. Though some decisions

ended up being faulty, this can’t be blamed on the lack of time spent discussing the issue.

● The Vietnam and Afghanistan Wars both caused the U.S. to intervene due to direct acts

of aggression by an outside source. For the Vietnam War it was when North Vietnam

tried to take over South Vietnam, and for the Afghanistan War it was 9/11. The war in

Iraq didn’t have this sort of incentive.

● "You can't go to another country and make people do what you want to do. They're going
to fight you back," Bassette, a 73-year-old Hampton native, said. In Vietnam, it was the
Viet Cong who fought back.
● “the issue of being able to identify an enemy combatant from civilians remains.”
● “The US used around 20 million gallons of herbicides from 1962 to 1971” in South

Vietnam

● “Between 1965 and 1973, the U.S. Air forces dropped around 8 millions ton of bombs in

Vietnam. Basic infrastructure in the North was devastated especially after ​Operation

Linebacker II​ lasting from 18 to 29 in December 1972.”

● “Today there are still many children in Vietnam growing up with various diseases and

disabilities affected by the harmful chemicals carried out in the war.” - What Was the

Impact of the Vietnam War?

● Many people tried to escape S. Vietnam and 200,000-400,000 people died in boats. Many

are refugees.
 Works Cited

Daily Press. "Veterans Draw Comparisons between Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan." ​Daily Press​, 14

Nov. 2015,

www.dailypress.com/news/military/dp-nws-vietnam-iraq-afghanistan-20151113-story.ht

ml. Accessed 6 May 2019.

History.com Editors. "Vietnam War." ​History​, 22 Feb. 2019,

www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history. Accessed 6 May 2019.

Nessen, Ron. "Iraq and Vietnam—Differences and Similarities." ​Bookings,​ 21 Mar. 2008,

www.brookings.edu/opinions/iraq-and-vietnam-differences-and-similarities/. Accessed 6

May 2019.

Perle, Richard, et al. "Why War? - A Necessary War." ​Frontline,​ PBS,

www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/truth/why/necessary.html. Accessed 6 May

2019. Interview.

Pillar, Paul R. "Why the Iraq War Really Was Different From the Vietnam War." ​The National

Interest​, 3 July 2014,

nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/why-the-iraq-war-really-was-different-the-vietnam-w

ar-10811. Accessed 6 May 2019.

Rohn, Alan. "What Was the Impact of the Vietnam War?" ​The Vietnam War​, 8 June 2013,

thevietnamwar.info/vietnam-war-impact/. Accessed 6 May 2019.

The United States should not engage in wars without exit strategies, like the Vietnam, Iraq, and

Afghanistan wars, because these conflicts often end in the return of violence, the destruction of

war zones, and the loss of the war.