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Tale of Two Quagmires: Iraq, Vietnam, and the Hard Lessons of War (International Studies Intensives)
Tale of Two Quagmires Iraq Vietnam and the Hard Lessons of War - International Studies Intensives Author:Kenneth J. Campbell There is an important debate raging about whether Iraq is becoming another Vietnam. Those who deny the similarities most vociferously are often those who know (or remember) the least about Vietnam. Kenneth Campbell knows Vietnam from his 13 months of fighting there (he received a Purple Heart), and years of political organizing to get the U.S. o... more »ut of the war. Here, Campbell lays out the political process of getting into, sinking deeper, hitting bottom, and finally pulling out of the Vietnam quagmire. He traces the chief lessons of Vietnam, which helped America successfully avoid quagmires for thirty years, and explains how neoconservatives within the Bush administration cynically used the tragedy of 9/11 to override the Vietnam syndrome and drag America into a new quagmire in Iraq. In view of where the U.S. finds itself today unable to stay but unable to leave--Campbell recommends that America re-dedicate itself to the essential lessons of Vietnam: the danger of imperial arrogance, the limits of military force, the importance of international and constitutional law, and the power of morality.« less