Argumentative Essay: Is Afghanistan Another Vietnam?

Is Afghanistan Another Vietnam?

“If you had to pick two of the hardest countries to operate in, Vietnam and Afghanistan would be high on the list.”

Nathan Packard, Marine Corps Historian

During the Bush administration, President George W. Bush applied the Vietnam analogy to the situation in Iraq to address the growing discontent with the US. occupation and military involvement in other countries. Since then this Vietnam analogy has been utilized by United States news reporters and journalists to describe the US’s position in Afghanistan. However, the validity of the application of the Vietnam analogy to Afghanistan is not sound. The context in which the United States entered the war, the rationale for its commitment there, and the circumstances

First, Vietnam and Afghanistan are very different countries, one located in Southeast Asia and the other in the Middle East. Vietnam has a strong national identity derived from strong anti-Chinese sentiment developed over thousands of years. Afghanistan is extremely diverse with over 30 different languages and 14 ethnic groups, leading to a weaker national identity. Second, the United States is not a main actor in both of the wars. In the Vietnam War, North Vietnam’s North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and guerilla force Viet Cong (VC) fought against the government of South Vietnam and its principal ally the United States. In the Afghanistan War, the United States invaded Afghanistan to fight against the Taliban, its allies and its militias. The United States eventually supported the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and provided the country with aid and infrastructure support. Third, the United States did not have the same motivation for entering the Vietnam War as the Afghanistan War. The United States involvement in the Vietnam War was rooted in its international fight against communism and corruption during the Cold War. It was essentially a preventive war while the Afghanistan War was a reactionary one. On September 11, 2001, also known as the 9/11, a series of airline hijackings and suicide attacks were committed by 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda. This was the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil in U.S. history, taking the lives of 2,977 people. After 9/11 the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in October 2002, with President Bush titling it a “war against terrorism.” The United States authorities demanded that the Taliban regime deliver them all the leaders of al-Qaeda “who hide in your land.” Fourth, the motivation behind the wars for the