Vietnam and Afghanistan Comparison
The Vietnam war occurred during 1955 to 1975 and the afghanistan from 2001 to the present year. This war have many year spreading them apart and even the people fighting in them see things differently. Time lapse and soldier are different but this two conflicts have three main things in common. The fighting in Afghanistan and Vietnam both start from a foreign country trying to invade and control them and then the U.
S getting into the fight. In Vietnam the French tried to take back its colony after world war two ended. They want the raw resources that could benefits its country’s economy. The vietnamese fought the French for independence. In Afghanistan the Soviet Union want trade routes with the indian ocean and control Afghanistan would mean that they would have global reach strategy or abold to spread in any direction they wished two. Both countries would lose the land they want to control.
On both case’s the U.S helped one side on each conflicted. The French would withdraw from vietnam after the battle of Dain Bien Phu an outpost in mountain terrain. On March 12 the attack start and a 57 siege on May 7 with the French holding their two square miles of ground, it was a the being of France withdrawing from Vietnam. The U.S would support the South Vietnam by sending in military advices and then later on actual military force like soldiers, tanks, and air power.
Their first real american military support was operation rolling thunder bombing targets in North Vietnam The Soviet Union helicopter fell prey to Mujanideen STINGER(surface to air missile) aboule of of shooting down low flying aircraft or light armor vehicles from 3 mile away guid by infrared technology. This weapons were proved by the U.S even though The USSR did not allow the U.S to sell weapons to the afghan people. The North vietnamese Al-Qaeda and taliban are different people and groups.
But they both used the same king of fighting tactic which is guerrilla warfare. This type of fighting use only a small number of armed forces or armed civilians fighting a larger more powerful fo. They do not go head on with the foe but use abuse, hit and run and usually attack moving conveys outpost and armories . The idea it to fight long enough, until the enemy gives up. In Vietnam the viet cong could hide in villages or underground tunnels. NVA picked up attack pattern u.
s armed force would make when sending in troops. They would plant abuse when the soldier arrived. They were good at hiding in trees and sniping down any american they saw. They were also very determined to beat the americans willing to lose 10 men for every american they killed. They would stop fighting large scale battle unless they were sure they would win and more hit and runs tactics would be used. Having underground tunnels met that they could keep fighting even if the hole are above them was control by the americans.
In Afghanistan the enemy is able to hide in the population. They have turn the rule of engagement against our own soldiers. Fighting one minute, running into their safe house, leaving the weapon at the house and they are able to go back outside without get being fired on. This is safe for them because our soldiers have to go throw all the house in the area to find the stash of weapons. Both side are using the same strategy but the U.
S involvement are different. The reason the United state was fighting in Vietnam was to prevent the spread of communism. The goal in Afghanistan is is to remove al-Qaida and its allies from forming base, and to prevent them from making attacks on the west. This is taking a total of about 38,000 american troops to find them. The difference between the two wars it the number troops being sent to fight.
There are roughly 38,000 american troops in Afghanistan. In the vietnam war era the U.S had more than 500,000 troops at its highest point. The number of casualties are also different than what they were in vietnam. About 58,000 servicemen died in Vietnam about 1,700 have died in Afghanistan.
The main difference is how soldiers are in the American military. Back the government could draft. This would cause many anti war protest across the nation. All american servicemen have the right to enlist without being forced to. The two war are very different for the reason fighting them, but they are still being fought the same way. Men and women still die in the armed force but the number of deaths has been reduced.
The only thing that should not be similar is that the United States of America should not withdraw from this conflict or the military servicemen deaths would have been for nothing once again.
