Vietnam in Iraq: Tactics, Lessons, Legacies and Ghosts

ISBN-13: 9780415405638 / Angielski / Miękka / 2006 / 256 str.

David Ryan; John Dumbrell

Opis

The Vietnam War has exerted a considerable influence over US foreign policy, its method of engagement, and its sense of credibility, military tactics and overall strategic initiatives since 1969. The Bush administration's intervention in Iraq 2003 departed significantly from the accumulated lessons acquired since the 1970's. Though Vietnam has been a frequent point of reference in regional conflict, various facets of that war have returned with even more frequency and persistence both within the United States, Iraq and elsewhere. This book aims:
-To examine the impact of the Vietnam analogy on the war in Iraq
-To assess the military tactical lessons that were learned from the Vietnam War
-To examine the broader strategic lessons and the US concern with their credibility in fighting 'ground wars'.
-To examine the influence and persistence of Vietnam's legacy in US politics, culture and diplomacy and its ability to continue to exert influence on Washington's tactics.
-To examine the impact of US foreign policy on both Vietnam and Iraq.

Recenzje

'...contains some fascinating details and insights on the role of politicians, the military establishment, public opinion, and private corporations. The main benefit of the book is to give the comparisons between Vietnam and Iraq historical context.' Lawrence Freedman, Foreign Affairs

Spis treści

Introduction  1. The Final Chapter? The Iraq War and the End of History  2. The Vietnam Laugh Track  3. Unraveling the Domestic Foreign Policy Consensus: Presidential Rhetoric, American Public Opinion, and the Wars in Vietnam and Iraq  4. Iraq and Vietnam: Military Lessons and Legacies  5. ‘A National Symphony of Theft, Corruption and Bribery': Anatomy of State Building from Iraq to Vietnam  6. "Vietnam", Victory Culture and Iraq: Struggling with Lessons, Constraints and Credibility from Saigon to Falluja  7. Europe’s Vietnam Syndrome: America and the Quagmire of Iraq  8. No More Vietnams: Iraq and the Analogy Conundrum  9. Vietnam and Iraq: Strategy, Exit and Syndrome  10. Falling Dominoes: The United States, Vietnam and the War in Iraq  11. The Iraq and Vietnam Wars: Some Parallels and Connections

O autorze

David Ryan, John Dumbrell