War On Terror Vs Vietnam War

To be able to understand this topic any further, let's go into detail about certain that happened in the past that may have led to the United States War on Terror. On September 11, 2001, as most people may all know it, it was an agonizing day of sadness, destruction, and a huge turning point that not only brought America together but it also caused a great change in history. On September 11, 2001 around 8:45am, on a clear Tuesday morning, a hijacked American Airline with 300 gallons of jet fuel crashed into the North tower of the World Trade Center in New York. The impact of the plane crash left a large burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110- story skyscraper. It instantly killed hundreds of people as well as hundreds of others whom were

Beneath its cloak, the infamous War on Terror garners striking similarities to WWI.  The terror attack on Austria-Hungary ignited the War on Terror…nearly a century later.  It was not until 1914 that a terrorist attack was utilized to provoke military response.  The attack of September 11 is a modern replay of this attack.  George W. Bush leapt into the war against Baghdad in 2003 with the same attitude of Woodrow Wilson in the Great War.  One of Wilson’s reasons for going to war against Germany was based on his belief that his

President George W. Bush launched what he called the “war on terror” on October 7, 2001. The U.S. military was sent to Afghanistan to get rid of the Taliban regime who helped the terrorists involved in 9/11. (History.com Staff, “President Bush Announces”). Since the start of the “war on terror”, six thousand, nine hundred fifteen American troops have died

Rates of trauma and mental illness are reported to be disproportionately higher among American veterans, especially those of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The barriers to care after civilian reentry further disadvantage this already vulnerable population. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been the longest sustained US military operations since the Vietnam era, sending more than 2.2 million troops into battle and resulting in more than 6,600 deaths and 48,000 injuries. Veterans are at risk mental health challenges, as well as family instability, elevated rates of homelessness, and joblessness. Veterans have disproportionate rates of mental illness, particularly posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse disorders, depression, anxiety, and military sexual trauma.

The Vietnam War and the war against terrorism are highly unpopular and controversial wars amongst American citizens. The United States went to war in Vietnam to keep their sphere of influence and to stop the spread of communism, and they went to war against ISIS to stop terrorism. Even though these wars don’t provide any direct benefits to us, the government deemed them to be necessary. However, many American citizens believe that these wars did not need to happen in the first place. Despite differentiating opinions, the Vietnam War and the war against terrorism are very comparable because of their similarities, but also their differences.

According to (Rosenheck and Fontana) "Recent trends in VA treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental disorders” Claim that treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among returning Iraq/Afghanistan veterans is a high priority for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The number of Persian Gulf–era veterans diagnosed with PTSD grew by 8,000 veterans per year from 2003 to 2005. Since 1997, however, the median annual increment in all users of VA specialty mental health services has averaged 37,000 veterans per year, including 22,000 per year with PTSD (14). This expansion was associated with a 37 percent reduction in mental health visits per year. The VA has substantially increased financial support for PTSD

The other difference between Vietnam War and World War 2 by comparing and contrasting elements of O’ Brien’s story with other sources was their results from wars. The results that people can see through their eyes were pretty simple. The United States won the World War 2, but it lost at Vietnam War. However, all is not as it seems. Through an Exploration of German Subjectivity: Three Generations after the End of World War Two, World War II caused the population in Europe to decrease from the German invasions to a massacre. Also, the defect of German made it contributed its new society and apologized about its mistakes. Through the World War 2, the United States became the country that had the most powerful military and economy. It has

The estimated cost for the war in the middle east totaled around four trillion dollars however not much of that is used in helping soldiers receive the mental health care that they need ( Moore). An Iraq war veteran, Tom Tarantino, brings up the sad truth on where the government's priorities lie when the issues of money arise, “If twenty two people were dying on the battlefield a day, like 22 veterans are dying by suicide a day, no one would be asking how much it costs; they would be shipping weapons and military enforcements there by tomorrow” ( Alarcon). Another upsetting but true fact is that some of the veterans that are willing to seek help, but can’t afford it get told by the army that they had the mental illness before the war thus getting out of paying for treatment. This has saved the United States army over 12.5 billion dollars ( Moore). The government needs to look at the big picture and see that the issue has become serious and money is needed to reverse the

The Iraq War was a 8-year conflict between a US-led coalition and Saddam Hussein’s regime. The Bush Administration suspected that Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and was planning attacks on American soil. On the Twentieth of March, 2003 the US invaded Iraq and within weeks, toppled the government (Biography.com). Many historians question whether the Americans actually had the justification to invade Iraq. Given the information that American intelligence had at the time, it is clear that the American invasion was justified. The Americans acted to secure what they thought to be a large cache of WMD, they upheld international law and they offered a deterrent against future attacks.

The war ranged from 1980-1988 with both countries taking over 400 billion dollars in damage in both oil wells and cities. Iraq began the war by using "indiscriminate ballistic-missile attacks, extensive use of chemical weapons and attacks on third-country oil tankers in the Persian Gulf." -History.com. At this point Iraq had used the ban chemical weapons and began to push into the Iranian land. By 1988 cities along the border were in rubble and over 1,000,000 soldiers had died collectively. It was after the war that Saddam Hussein began to claim the nearing of a Nuclear Warhead. Some Americans thought he was bluffing while others grew worried of MAD coming back from the Cold War. As a result of the mismanaged and neglected cities and countries in the MIddle East, terror groups began to form so that order could be in the land, but they only caused terror and fear in the citizens. Flashforward to 2001 and the terrorism has grown to the outskirts of the capital city and everywhere else In Iraq. Saddam Hussein had made little to no effort to remove the threat from the country. Saddam was more focused on suppressing the Kurdish uprising, which had been and ongoing fight since the eighties. The UN had implemented sanctions against the Iraqi government for using deadly force on the nations own citizens. The UN had been keeping a close eye on Iraq, but now more than ever, Saddam had announced the Lethal Arms Program which was to develop nuclear and biological WMD. Later in 2002 George Bush stated the vulnerability of a Iraq nuclear strike and the collaboration between Iraq and the

The amount of money spent during the Iraq War is a number that is not easily understood. The initial cost of the Iraq War has totaled up to be somewhere around 1.7 trillion dollars as of 2013 (2). While this is a staggering number, it has only become worse. A study has shown that the expenses over the next four decades could total up to be around 6 trillion dollars not to mention the interest rate which could add another 4 trillion (2). These numbers do not even make a dent in what the U.S. is paying. In addition to the initial cost, there is also a price to be paid to the veterans that served our country. A 2011 study found U.S. medical and disability claims for veterans after a decade of war totaled $33 billion. In 2013, that number had risen to $134.7 billion (2). The War in Iraq brought devastation to their

The war against Iraq began on March 20, 2002, when the U.S lunched “Operation Iraqi Freedom”. This was after President Bush called Iraq part of an “axis of evil”, also calling the country dangerous which is threatening U.S with the world’s most destructive weapons. The major phase of the war began when U.S troops marched within 50 miles of Baghdad with heavy aerial attacks on Baghdad and other cities. After the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon which was believed to be the work of Al Qaeda, U.S was concerned about the security of the Untied States which lead to the war in Iraq. Even though U.S officials felt the war in Iraq is the main priority, but many people in U.S opposes the war which brings up a lot of controversial issues.

Prior to the invasion, American policy makers also emphasised ‘the broad benefits likely to result from the removal of Saddam Hussein’s authoritarian regime into a ‘cultivation of a democratic regime’[10]. They argued that democratization of Iraq would improve the well being of Iraqi citizens, politically and economically. Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, the democratization of Iraq would help stimulate greater economic prosperity and promote further democracy in the rest of the middle east - a region historically characterised by authoritarian governments where there is a wide spread of conflict, instability and widespread poverty[11]. Moreover it was claimed that the democratization of Iraq would set the stage for the settlement of conflicts that had plagued the Middle Eastern region for decades which would mean the chance to create lasting peace.[12]

The reason for the invasion of Iraq was that they were suspected of harboring weapons of mass destruction and they were a potential threat to world peace. However no evidence has ever been found of the existence of such weapons in Iraq and this brought a lot of criticism on the US. This was however not the first altercation the US has been involved in in the Gulf war they fought with Iraq in order to protect their oil interests in the gulf region. The united states in the past has been known for going to war to protect is economic interests from the second world war, to the Vietnam War to the Korean War. All was aimed to protect the economic superiority of the United States. The resolution that brought the gulf war to an end put Sadam Hussein in power and thereafter he failed to follow some compliances the United Nations had imposed and in 2003 the Us led a coalition of forces aimed to remove Sadam Hussein from power and it was successful as he was executed 3 years later. This however started war in the country with the people bring opposed to the occupying forces and the new government that was in place. They also had additional reasons for

Vietnam and Afghanistan are “most-likely” cases because no other states in the post-World War II period have had such lengthy periods of war that combined, just as in Europe, external and internal conflict. Obviously there are important fundamental differences, including history and geography, between the two cases. Another key difference is that Afghanistan is still at war and Vietnam is not, but this difference is not critical: in the cases will show how war helped strengthen the Vietnamese state while weakening the Afghan one, so we are able to examine the posited theoretical mechanisms and show their operation. Further, these are the best two cases for our purposes because the length and lethality of these wars permit more detailed tracing