This Means War

Ben Weller
Section A02
Reading Reflection week 5
In Response to "From Saigon to Baghdad: The Vietnam Syndrome, the Iraq War, and American Foreign Policy" by Andrew Priest

War is inevitable. Let me be clear though, war isn't necessary and is definitely not ideal, but for the world we live in, it is inevitable just the same. The only question about inevitable war is how and if resources will be invested. In Andrew Priest's article, he addresses this by describing "Vietnam Syndrome". He describes Vietnam Syndrome as a general idea that the US should not interject in International conflict unless there is just reason, there is a clearly attainable objective, and minimal casualties will occur.

I believe that Priest makes very great points and in general is correct about Vietnam Syndrome. The lessons learned from the Vietnam war should be used as example for other wars such as the Iraq war. However, I also believe that the lesson shouldn't set the standard for wars. While I do believe that the Iraq war parallels the Vietnam war and the procedure learned from the Vietnam war should take place, I also believe that each war case should be taken individually and assessed accordingly. We do not need a specific "to do" list whenever a similar war comes up, but we should definitely take in to consideration each war before it.

Questions:

1) Although the purpose of war is peace, what is actually being accomplished in each war?
2) Are we able to learn from each war before history repeats itself?