Okay, but seriously. This is something I'm considering writing a research paper on, and I would love to have as many opinions on the subject as I can.
There have been many comparisons between the Vietnam War and our current involvement in Iraq. There are damned good points for both sides.
On the one hand, we have America getting in an ideological conflict with people we don't understand because we're afraid they'll end up with a government that's "dangerous" to us, whatever that means.
On the other hand, there are natural resources involved like oil. There is a reasonable expectation that secular government in a hardcore Muslim country like Iraq can work, as evidenced by Turkey.
While the evidence itself is interesting, and I would certainly welcome anything people can offer in that regard, this isn't the topic of my paper. This isn't "Vietnam and Iraq: Compare and Contrast."
The topic of my paper is, predictably, of a more ethnographic bent. Why do people react so strongly to this comparison?
My hypothesis is pretty much that we have, as a nation, established Vietnam as a Bad Thing. It went badly, ended badly, and worst of all, made us look bad. Comparing the conflict in Iraq to the Vietnam war attaches this modern issue to a confirmed Bad Thing. By attaching it to a Bad Thing, we are in essence calling it a Bad Thing in itself.
Now, for people who approve of the war in Iraq to any degree, that makes the whole comparison extremely dangerous. It means that if they give the analysts one inch along this line of reasoning, they'll be to blame for the mile-long string of anti-war diatribe that comes after.
So, here's my request. I'm looking for views on this comparison. I'm totally willing to accept that even if I'm not wrong, I'm missing some crucial part of the picture. It would help me to hear alternative explanations, or even to just receive links to particularly heated (but still relatively-informed, please =P ) discussions that center around this comparison. <p>-------------------------
<span style="font-size:xx-small;">I've always followed my father's advice: he told me, first to always keep my word and, second, to never insult anybody unintentionally. If I insult you, you can be goddamn sure I intend to. And, third, he told me not to go around looking for trouble. --John Wayne</span></p>