Interesting that the two anniversaries were so close together. There were many articles in the press comparing today's Iraq with the Vietnam War. I saw fewer making reference to the events of 60 years ago with today's happenings in Iraq, but I'm sure they're out there.
I know why so many people love referring to Vietnam when discussing Iraq, but I don't see how what happened in S.E. Asia in the 1960s & 70s has any relevance today. Vietnam is as relevant to understanding today's war as World War II was to understanding Vietnam.
The military had lessons to learn from Vietnam (and all deployments since) and those lessons are, presumably, being applied as far as practicable in Iraq today. However, the political equation is completely different today.
The only similarity from what I can see is that many people oppose the war. This is not new. World War I, the Spanish-American War, the Indian wars, the Civil War, the Mexican American War, and the War of 1812 ("the most unpopular war that the United States ever waged, not even excepting the Vietnam conflict") all had a large number of detractors in the US.
Is this war the right course of action for the United States? That is the fundamental question. After that, if the answer is 'yes', then what are the right tactics to win the war? If the answer is 'no' then how do we exit Iraq? Talking about Saigon, Hanoi, the Vietcong, Ho Chi Minh, etc. might be comforting for some people in the media and academia, but these discussions provide nothing useful to help answer the key questions regarding Iraq.
