The Vietnam War and Iraq - 1029 Words

During the Vietnam War, between 1955 and 1984, fifty-eight thousand Americans lost their lives, as well as over three-million Vietnamese lost theirs. The financial cost to the United States comes to over one hundred-fifty-billion dollars. The causes of the Vietnam War were derived from the symptoms, components and consequences of the Cold War. The Vietnam War revolved around America’s belief that communism was a threat to expand all over South East Asia. With this being said the Vietnam War was both a nationalist and communist movement, unsuccessful in America’s regards, comparable to the war in Iraq, a poor man’s war, led to the downfall of Lyndon B. Johnson, and overall stood as an unpopular war. Let’s take a look at what damage the†¦show more content†¦Kennedy in November 1963. When Vice President Johnson assumed the presidency, he inherited the rising crisis in Vietnam. Despite the promises to bring a smooth end to the American involvement in Indochina, Johnson steadily increased the number of U.S. troops placed in Vietnam, hoping to ensure a U.S. victory before withdrawing forces. No American president had yet lost a war, and Johnson hoped he wouldnt be the first. According to the website known as, Shmoop, â€Å"By the end of his second term as president, his approval rates had plummeted and his hopes for bringing an end to the war in Vietnam had dissolved. On 31 March 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, Johnson announced to the American people that he would not seek reelection.† The Vietnam War destroyed President Lyndon B. Johnson’s ratings one-hundred and ten percent. The Vietnam War was not talked about by merely any souls out in the vast Universe. It was unpopular most of the years it had been being fought, but the opposition to it grew in 1968. The Viet Cong launched a massive offensive on key cities and military centers; and U.S. troop levels amplified and so did the injuries and deaths. This war had a no-win situation, meaning that many people believed that our involvement in Vietnam was not accomplishing anything as enormous numbers of our troops were dying. There were disturbing and horrific photographs, as well as videos, that were sent back to the U.S. which showed the civilian population howShow MoreRelatedThe Vietnam War And Iraq Wars1214 Words   |  5 PagesFinal Exam Paper The Vietnam War and Iraq wars have many more similarities then the common American would think. Both were fighting gorillas in a foreign land in a way that the soldiers were never trained or prepared for, against a foe that despise America as a whole. However I believe the biggest difference is the American publics view and attitude toward each of the two wars. 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