Joe Swiecki
Picture from the fall of Saigon marking the end of the Vietnam war (L). A helicopter above USA's embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan (R). | FIle Photo (L)/ AFP (R). Abstract: As conflict looms throughout the world, the United States must again learn lessons from its failed conflicts in Vietnam and Afghanistan. Both conflicts featured blurry battle lines, nebulous objectives, undefinable victories, and inhospitable terrain that nullified the U.S. airpower and physically punished its ground forces. For a Presidential administration deciding if or when to intervene in a foreign country, the failures of Vietnam and Afghanistan should be a crucial influence in whatever foreign policy decision the administration makes.
As a possible conflict in the Middle East looms, it is a prescient time to look back at America’s two longest wars and the lessons learned in blood. In the almost fifty years since the fall of South Vietnam and five years since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, it has become clear that the outcomes of both conflicts had one comparable result: failure. But what lessons can be learned from the parallels and differences in the two conflicts, and can those lessons give policymakers a greater understanding of future challenges? To compare America’s two longest wars and create lessons learned, this article will look at four variables: policy objectives, popular support, tactics and terrain, and government partners. The comparisons between the conflicts are not limited to these variables, but this article will restrict the scope of the analysis to these four critical topics.
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