Commentary: Is Iraq another Vietnam?

[Hannibal]

By Tom Clarkson
September 21, 2005





BAGHDAD, Iraq (Army News Service, Sept. 21, 2005) -- There are a number of professionals in Iraq today who are qualified to answer the question: Is Iraq another Vietnam? They are men who served in Vietnam and are now helping rebuild Iraq.

In just a few weeks, I found more than 60 of these veterans working in a variety of capacities throughout Iraq. From 1964 to 1971 they served in the Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy from the Gulf of Tonkin to the DMZ. Their present ages range from 51 to 70.

The once hard-bodied young Soldiers are a little paunchy now, a little grayer, a little slower. But they are no less committed to serving their country. In fact, 11 are still in uniform -- three colonels, five lieutenant colonels, two master sergeants, and one warrant officer five.

The others are federal employees or contractors. Their tours of duty in Iraq range from six months to more than 18. They are today, as they were in Vietnam, a diverse lot.

These veterans say that it was a mistake to do so much for the South Vietnamese, both militarily and in the civil sector. They say we made two major errors. First, we took away their pride and sense of self-sufficiency and gave them the impression that we felt ourselves to be superior, generous entities who would solve their difficulties.

Second, we failed to educate them for when they would have to take care of themselves. We failed to heed the old parable “Give a man a fish and he eats for one day. Teach him to fish and he eats for the rest of his life.”

In 1967, Buddy Algood was a second lieutenant with E Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry of the 199th Infantry Brigade near Binh Chan. Following loss of his lower right calf and foot and recuperation from his injuries, he was the first amputee to graduate from the Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. A month later he returned to Vietnam.

Now, 38 years later, as a civilian, Algood came to Iraq with the Project and Contracting Office. He explains that, in Iraq, part of his early work was “identifying reconstruction projects in 10 strategic cities that would put Iraqis to work and make an immediate improvement in their quality of life.”

In the first seven weeks, 358 projects were identified, developed, and prioritized with contracts solicited and awarded. Wherever possible, efforts were made to hire Iraqi contractors and workers. At one point, 21,000 Iraqis were employed on these projects.

Algood wonders aloud if “We’re not finally doing what was an oft-used phrase in Southeast Asia…‘winning the hearts and minds’ of those we were/are to help.”

There are some similarities between Iraq and Vietnam, though. In both countries, things are often not as they appear.

I was a first lieutenant with the 1st Signal Corps in Vietnam 1967-68. Like in ‘Nam, the longer I’m here, the more I realize how little I understand. The complexity of relationships, tribal loyalties, long-time hatreds, and vendettas that simmer slightly under the surface cannot be ignored.

Yet there are big differences, too. Iraq has a history 7,500 years old. It is the land that invented paved roads, epic literature, law codes, banking, and even joint stock corporations. It is the culture that created cuneiform writing from which record keeping evolved. Even under Saddam Hussein, it was a modern land of teachers and engineers and industry.

Many excellent Iraqi engineers and sub-contracting companies have successfully been part of the reconstruction efforts.

About 10 projects are being completed every day. So far, PCO has completed 1,727 projects.

We’re doing this one right! Vietnam veterans in Iraq emphasize.



(Editor’s note: Tom Clarkson serves with the Gulf Region Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.)

[Bluehawk]

This needs to be said, in a lot of ways, by a lot of people, a lot of times.

[Woodmonkey]

Originally Posted by Bluehawk

This needs to be said, in a lot of ways, by a lot of people, a lot of times.

Yes!

[odannyboy]

You can never dismiss the incredible accomplishments of the American military (and the incredible sacrifices they are making every day, fromn active duty to the Guard and Reserves), but we are not only trying to hobble together three very unlikely factions who all hate each other (Kurds, Shi'ites and Sunni's) but we are also fighting a violent campaign against Muslims flocking to Iraq from their terrorist training camps. So I say, what good is the best intentions if they are so flawed as to never bring about the intended results, provided those results were ever realistic in the first place?

Here, listen to O'Reilly and Phil Donahue slug it out, I clearly agree more with Donahue, and I don't care what anyone thinks ,either. Donahue clearly has a better understanding of Iraq than bloviating Bill.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/21.html#a5055

[Caldric]

Well the war is totally different but people like Donahue have not gone away. Only resemblence I see is the same wind bags.

[BrianK]

Not your original post but one edited to reflect the sentiment that has plagued America from the beginning. Absolutely true the thought of [ if they are so flawed] but and there is always a but. The key is history. America is still developing, finding it's way looking for the perfection that eludes mankind. One undeniable fact stands out. It's the continous forward looking spirit of America and other free societies that makes a differance in lives.

Will the citizens of Iraq embrace that same search or will they give up and believe there is no hope? I hope they will want the same freedoms I enjoy and be a catalyst for changing a system that represses the human spirit.

Phil Donahue did speak well but offered no forward look. He would fit as well in our beginning as he does now. A safe position of do nothing. Very easy to do nothing and hope it works out. Difficult to make decisions that have unpleasant consequences and no way of knowing what the end result will be.

[odannyboy]

Originally Posted by BrianK

Not your original post but one edited to reflect the sentiment that has plagued America from the beginning. Absolutely true the thought of [ if they are so flawed] but and there is always a but. The key is history. America is still developing, finding it's way looking for the perfection that eludes mankind. One undeniable fact stands out. It's the continous forward looking spirit of America and other free societies that makes a differance in lives.

Will the citizens of Iraq embrace that same search or will they give up and believe there is no hope? I hope they will want the same freedoms I enjoy and be a catalyst for changing a system that represses the human spirit.

I wonder where in history a nation invaded another nation under, at best, the flimsiest of excuses, and in a completely different culture than our own we installed, at gunpoint, a new version of government that we are (hoping) will flourish. Sure, the aims are legitimate and just, and the intentions are good, but that has never been the argument. To just think that "good intentions" are in THIS country's best interest ignore whether or not this mission has serious problems in its overall strategy, one that has been shown to be wrong on so many levels thus far.