Author
PhD in English Language and Literature
Assistant Professor, Oman College of Management and Technology, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Abstract
Introduction: Describing the US wars in Vietnam and Iraq, many critics assert the similarity between US decision-making in both wars. The critics of the U.S. administration often link Iraq and Vietnam, charging George W. Bush and his policymakers they had rejected the lessons of the Vietnam War 1965–73 and involving the country in a similar kind of conflict.
Purpose: This study aims to draw parallels between the Iraq and Vietnam wars which mainly center on the role of misinformation and deception in the run-up to the two wars, the political and military problems that the United States confronted in each case, and the ebbing of public support in the face of two similarly draining conflicts.
Study questions: The study raises many substantive questions concerning the two wars: How did America become involved in Vietnam? How did it launch a war in Iraq? What were the main motivations in both wars? What were their main aims? Did the decision-makers in George W. Bush’s administration learn the lessons of Vietnam or they repeated the same mistakes?
Methodology/Approach: The study depends on the analytical and comparative approaches to analyze thoroughly how the USA became involved in Vietnam and Iraq, its motivations, and its aims, trying to find satisfying answers to the questions it raised.