Ebook: Iraq, Vietnam, and the Limits of American Power

Vietnam and Iraq are now linked forever. But a straight comparison between the two wars does injustice to solid history. In this revised and updated edition of Is Iraq Another Vietnam? historian Robert K. Brigham shows how the similarities between Iraq and Vietnam illuminate similar patterns of U.S. foreign policy behavior. A Vietnam expert, Brigham argues that the United States has turned to a foreign policy of expansion in times of external threat--or heightened threat perceptions--leading to limited Congressional debate and oversight. The results have been devastating. The massive financial hangover will be only one of the Iraq War's lasting legacies.

The mechanisms are in place for change, but so far the U.S. has done little to alter the course of its foreign relations. It is crucial that we apply the lessons of Vietnam wisely and selectively--in this war and in the future.