Vietnam Vs. Iraq

Anthony G Jones II

U.S. History/ Ron Scheneck

May 13, 2005

Vietnam was a country divided in half with the northern half possessing a government that had the backing of cold war superpowers.

The entire country of Iraq is under the control of the United States with pockets of "insurgents" holding approx. one city and three quarters of another. There is no opposing government or super power support.

The Viet Cong waged a guerilla war in the south by successfully infiltrating the countryside. Once again the Viet Cong was controlled by the north and had NVA (the regular army of North Vietnam) support and, indirectly, support from cold war super powers.

Iraq has some "insurgents", some are real, many are not. They are in a couple of cities, not the countryside. These insurgents have no safe haven with a separate Iraqi government. Many are foreign fighters hoping to destabilize the region. It is possible (even likely) that Syria and the Iranian governments are supplying jihadists to the fight. That still pales in comparison to the might of the Soviets and the Chinese. Vietnam was jungle.Iraq is desert. The NVA never won a battle in Vietnam. The Iraqi forces under Saddam ran away.North Vietnam and their leftist accomplices in the American media won the battle of propaganda.

The Iraqi "insurgents" and their Al Qeada buddies are attempting to employ the same successful strategy. The American press and the far left are champing at the bits to relive the glory days of their Vietnam propaganda victory. The old playbook has been dusted off.

The Tet offensive was a monumental failure for North Vietnam resulting in a devastating military defeat. To the left, Tet is spoken of in hushed reverent tones. Tet was the battle when those brave NVA communists soundly defeated the