The Vietnam Syndrome

Ryan Ke

Section 1

Week 5

            The article “From Saigon to Baghdad” by Andrew Priest explores the ramifications of the Vietnam War on American foreign policy up to this day. The article begins by establishing the term Vietnam Syndrome as a set of criteria to be met before the US commits military troops to combat. It explains how the embarrassing failure of the Vietnam War has introduced a more hesitant policy on interfering with the politics of other countries. The article then continues to explain how this policy has affected political decision making in the past couple of decades.

            What was especially interesting to me was the highlight of the influence of public opinion on policy. A reason that the Vietnam War continues to spur discussion is the immense public disapproval of the war as it was occurring. The article states that while public opinion may not be able to shape political policies directly, it can constrain it by setting up the environment in which it is set. I found this relevant because later in the article it talks about how the Vietnam Syndrome seemed to be suspended after 9/11; both the government and the people suddenly seemed very eager and willing to put our military presence overseas. This leads me to ask, what are the similarities and differences between the Vietnam War and the current US involvement in the middle east? Are we learning from our mistakes?