Tale of Two Quagmires: Iraq, Vietnam, and the Hard Lessons of War

by Kenneth J. Campbell, Richard A. Falk

Overview

Is Iraq becoming another Vietnam? Author Kenneth Campbell received a Purple Heart after serving 13 months in Vietnam. He then spent years campaigning to get the US out of the war. Here, Campbell lays out the political similarities of both wars. 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594513510
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/15/2007
Series:	International Studies Intensives
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Authored by Campbell, Kenneth J.; Falk, Richard A.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Great Debate; Chapter 2 Personal Encounter with a Quagmire; Chapter 3 The Vietnam Quagmire; Chapter 4 Legacies The Global and the Colonial; Chapter 5 The Iraq Quagmire; Chapter 6 Last Exit from Baghdad;

Editorial Reviews

The plethora of best-selling new books on the Iraq War today merely catalogues the tactical errors and leaves the false impression that had the war been fought differently, victory would have been achieved and U.S. interests advanced. Campbell's lucidly written comparison of the wars in Vietnam and Iraq shows how costly this illusion is, a deception consciously fostered by American leaders and cheerleading members of the Fourth Estate.”
—Lieutenant General William E. Odom (U.S. Army, retired), Senior Fellow with the Hudson Institute and former Director of the National Security Agency during the Reagan Administration.

“Campbell cuts through the rhetoric and obfuscation that passes for debate over Vietnam and Iraq, offering in their place measured, thoughtful, clearsighted analysis. Anyone who wants to understand two of the greatest debacles of my generation, how they relate to each other, and what we might do to avoid future such failures needs to read this book.”
—W. D. Ehrhart, author of Vietnam Perkasie: A Combat Marine Memoir

“A Tale of Two Quagmires is a passionate and thoughtful analysis of the old war in Vietnam and the new one in Iraq. Kenneth Campbell understands war as a veteran and as an historian. The book is an invaluable aid to understanding the past and the present.”
—Marilyn B. Young, Professor of History, New York University

From the Publisher