1) Of the lessons A-K in the handout "Applying the Lessons of Vietnam," which one is the most important one the USA should have learned from its experiences in the Vietnam conflict? Why do you think this lesson is more important than all of the others?
2) Did the USA actually learn this most important lesson in its recent involvements in Iraq, Afghanistan, and/or Libya (do some research if you need to)? Back up your answer with some evidence.
3) Critique (in a professional manner) the choice of the person who posted before you (agree/disagree with his/her choice of most important lesson, and why).
This 10 point assignment is due by 2/27/12 at 11:59pm. Comment to this post using your first name, last initial, and class period.
Good Luck!
36 comments:
1) I think the most important lesson the United States should have learned from this was that the United States is not all-powerful. We as a country think that we have the most power in the world, but as we can see we do not. I believe this because we do not win every war that we have fought in, just like we did not win the Vietnam War. Even if some people do think in some way we won, that is hard for me to believe because we had to pull our troops out and many of our men were killed. Just because we had our men in the war did not mean that South Vietnam was going to win. I think this is the most important lesson because we cannot just get into other countries fights because we can bring ourselves down with them and that is something we should not do.
2) I somewhat think we learned our lesson because we did decide to pull out of the Vietnam war and when we saw that South Vietnam needed more help we did not go back in and help them.
Olivia K. 3
1)I think the most important lesson that the USA should have learned is that the United States is not all powerful. This is important because it reminds the United States that they did not win that war and they won't win every war they are in, so they should think carefully before joining a new war.
2)I think we learned our lesson by not going back into South Vietnam but we didn't by enter ing the war in Iran and Iraq.
3) I agree with the person who posted before me that learning that the United States is not all powerful is the most important lesson to have learned.
Dylan McG 3
1) The most important lesson the USA should have learned was lesson I: A team will not win if their players are continually squabbling withh the coach, insisting that their plays be tried instead. The opposition of the war both in the government and by the American people behind the war really detracted from our war effort. In WW2 the American citizens rallied behind the war effort and supported the soldiers. In Vietnam, they did a 360 turn and instead protested against the soldiers and what we were doing in foreign land, not supporting those who were risking their lives. In congress, we were not 100% behind what we were fighting for. We were divided on our opinions on the war, and when people's lives are on the line, you need to be all for the cause.
2) Recently in the Middle East, I feel we were behind the war effort after the attacks on 9/11. However as the years have dragged on we have cared less and less on what is going on in the Middle East and more opposition has begun. When Presidential canindates are running and a big part of a campaign is pulling the troops out of somewhere, then the war is probably not agreed upon or justified as a big enough threat to the American people. I don't think we have fully understood this lesson yet.
3) I disagree with Olivia K. on that we learned America was not all powerful, being the most important lesson because the fact that people thought America was all powerful was ridiculous. We had jumped into two global conflicts a few years after the other nations who had grown fatigued with fresh soldiers and strong weapons. We didn't beat Germany and Japan on our own, we needed help, and we didn't start at the same time, so to say these were fair fights is wrong. The US is a very large and strong nation, but to say we were All-Powerful at any time is not something I can agree with.
1) I think the most important lesson the USA should have learned was lesson F: The United States is not all-powerful. Up until this point, the USA won every war it entered, so to come out of Vietnam without a victory was a shock. However, I think it was important to realize that although the USA is one of the most powerful countries in the world, it is not invincible.
2) I think the USA learned its lesson to an extent in that the USA has become smarter about the wars it enters and what it is trying to achieve.
3) I disagree with the person before me that the most important lesson was lesson I. I think there will always be opposition to what the government is trying to do and we will very rarely have full support of a war effort like World War II.
Eric W. 4
1) I think the most important lesson the USA should have learned was lesson F: The United States is not all-powerful. Up until this point, the USA won every war it entered, so to come out of Vietnam without a victory was a shock. However, I think it was important to realize that although the USA is one of the most powerful countries in the world, it is not invincible.
2) I think the USA learned its lesson to an extent in that the USA has become smarter about the wars it enters and what it is trying to achieve.
3) I disagree with the person before me that the most important lesson was lesson I. I think there will always be opposition to what the government is trying to do and we will very rarely have full support of a war effort like World War II.
Matt D. 4
1) I think the most important lesson the U.S. should have learned from Vietnam is that they need to make it quick and decisive. The majority of citizens in the U.S. will not support a war that gets increasingly expensive and risks too many soldiers lives.
2)I don't think that the U.S. learned their lesson. WE have spent billions of dollars and thousands of lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. The was dragged on too long and in my opinion has become a very unpopular war.
3) I agree with the person who posted above me in that the U.S. is not all powerful. The government needs to realize that every decision they make will not be the best one for the public and the world.
Jake D. 3
1)I think that the most important lesson the United States should have learned from this was that unrestricted press severely limits the ability of a democracy to fight effectively,in a long and complicated war. I think so because when the public is able to see the images that they are not ready to see, than they will stop supporting the war efforts. The blood and gore might make people back then very uncomfortable with what they were supporting.
2)The United States certainly did not learn its lesson from this because now there are soldiers on trial for accidentally killing some civilians over in Afghanistan. I do not support the slaughter of innocent people in any way but because of the media the whole case is blown way out of proportion. Because of this some soldiers are now uncomfortable in going into battle with fear that they will accidentally hit a civilian.This should not be an issue especially since you never know if its just a civilian or a bomb-toting terrorist.
3)I agree with the person who posted above me in that the US should make it quick and decisive because if they do not than the enemy always will.
Mike L 3
1) I think the most important lesson that the USA should have learned is that the U.S. is not all-powerful. Until this point we had always come out victorious in war, giving us a feeling of invisibility. I think because of this confidence, we thought that we could fix anything that we saw as an issue around the world. There are problems that the U.S. alone cannot resolve or maybe should not resolve, and because of that fact I believe that the most important lesson to be learned from Vietnam was that the U.S. is not all-powerful.
2) I think that we have learned our lesson in that so far we were able to resolve conflicts we have entered. As we have concluded our involvements in Iraq and Libya.
3) Although I think unrestricted press severely limits the ability of a democracy to fight effectively is an important lesson to learn from Vietnam, I do not agree that it is the most important. I think that when it came down to it in Vietnam, the media was an issue, but the bigger issue was that we did not have the power as a nation to resolve the issues in Vietnam.
Haley M. Period 4
1) The most important lesson is Lesson I, a team will not win if the players are continually squabbling with the coach. I think this one is the most important because in order to be successful in anything, especially a war, all players have to be fully committed and on the same side. If any one part of our government is disloyal to this, then our efforts will not have as much of a valiant outcome, if any, as we would have hoped. I feel like in Vietnam, a lot of the country turned against the war including parts of our government. In this case, the moral and ability necessary to win was lost since our country was not united as a team. All people need to be united in the face of a war otherwise, failure is an option.
2) I don’t believe that our country has learned this lesson yet. In the most recent wars, Iraq being a good example, Americans all over, including government officials, did not agree with our efforts in the war as long as it lasted. Opposition arose to bring our troops home. This is a major resistance to any effort the US puts into any war.
3) Although the US learning the lesson of not being all-powerful is important, I don’t think it is the most important lesson to learn from Vietnam. Any sense of confidence is necessary in war efforts. We need to be confident when entering a war that we are better and stronger than our opponent and that anything is in our capability.
Mael
1) I think that the most important lesson to learn is that the United States, though it may be the most militaristic country in the world, will not win every battle.
Americans don't seem to take into account that fighting in a foreign land is a major drawback that billions of military-intended dollars don't make up for. Brian says hi.
2) We did not learn our lesson. The last ten years of military involvement in the Middle East can attest to that.
(How long did it take to catch Osama?)
3)I would disagree with Haley. I think that the most important point is my point and that my point is the best of all points. Countries can struggle within but still unite enough to reach a common cause.
Lauren Cur pd 3
1) I think the most important lesson, is lesson D. America has tried to get in everyone's business and tries to fight great battles, like Vietnam, but doing so has caused the US to fall into a trap where there is no "good-looking" way of getting out. America is dragged into making choices to keep esteem instead of making the right choices. America has lost its grip and strength on its own decisions, then making unreasonble ones.
2) No, I do not think we have learned our lesson because we continue to get dragged in to battles like Iraq and Afghanistan and other conflicts because of American ambition to fix things. Also, we are led to trying to establish democracy in places like Afghanistan where the task is almost impossible.
3) I agree in part with Mael (?) because America is ignorant to thinking that always fighting in foreign battles is a good thing, however I would like to add that it is not necessarily that America should know it won't win EVERY war, it should know which wars are ACTUALLY winable. At least battles that have real strength and meaning and purpose behind them. If we only fought for our own issues instead of for others problems then we would probably be in fewer wars and conflicts.
Stephen K. 4
1) Lesson F: The United States is not all powerful. We have tended to get a big head in the past regarding our involvement in wars, and it has led to much destruction and many deaths.
2) Somewhat. I feel that we have gotten involved in these wars for the wrong reason. (For example, why was the Iraq war our war, specifically?) But we have learned from Iraq/Afghanistan because we chose not to invade North Korea after the fact. It isn't our problem.
3)I agree with Angelica, America has way too big of a head when it comes to wars.
Hannah G 3
1)I believe Lesson F: The United States is not all-powerful is the most important lesson the USA should have learned from the Vietnam conflict. This lesson is the most important because after World War II the USA thought they were the most powerful nation in the world and just marched into Vietnam thinking it would be the same as World War II. However, this was not the case because the US’s leaders were too cocky and thought the USA is invincible but in reality, it isn’t.
2)The USA did not learn its lesson from Vietnam because they did the exact same thing in Afghanistan. If we learned at all that the USA is not all powerful and invincible, it should have been on 9/11 and our invasion of Afghanistan. But we didn’t learn the lesson from Vietnam so it makes sense why we didn’t learn the same lesson from Afghanistan.
3)I agree with Lauren because America likes to force its views onto every country it goes into war with. Just like Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, etc. we tried to put fourth democracy onto those nations when, in reality, it so difficult it is almost impossible.
1- I think the most important lesson for the United States to learn from the conflict in Vietnam was to make future conflicts quick and decisive, just as we didn't do. Other options, such as limiting the press, and using full military might work well, but only in an uncomplicated world where people don't care about losing rights, and bombing the heck out of a country. In order for the U.S to win more conflicts, we need to hit hard, and not pull our punches, but end the entire conflict swiftly, and then leave.
2- No. We have spent about 10 years in Afghanistan, and 9 years in Iraq. We slowly escalated, and proved that Vietnam taught us nothing.
3- I do not believe that the U.S is all powerful, however I do believe that we could have applied ourselves much more in Iraq, and other conflicts. I sort of agree, and disagree with the people who posted before me.
1) I would say that Lesson F is the most important. "The United States is not all-powerful." I say this because it's never a good thing when a nation becomes arrogant, as ours has since World War 2. Assuming we can do anything is what leads us into absolutely unnecessary wars such as Afghanistan and Iraq. If we were to become a much more isolationist nation instead of considering ourselves all-powerful, then we would not have a need for any of the other lessons.
2) No. Absolutely not. We still think we can conquer anyone or anything and, as I say again, that has gotten us into meddling with the middle east.
3) In regards to Stephen Kendeigh's post: I agree with his choice, but I fail to see the point he tried to make in his number 2. What does North Korea have to do with a lesson from Vietnam?
Evan Gliniecki period 4
1) lesson B, Make it quick; make it decisive. long wars always seem to turn out the worst for all sides. They allow for many more life's and boat loads of money to be spent, as well as making it a terrible time for everyone fighting in it, especially the civilians in the war zones.
2)not at all, The wars in the middle east are still going on years after they started. Long wars tend to lose the support of everyone, and the US has not seemed to catch on to this yet.
3)I agree with Spoerl, he adds to what I say and agrees with my post.
Coreen Kriva Period 3
1. I think that the most important lesson from Vietnam that the United States should have learned is to make it quick and make it decisive. It is more important than all of the others because Vietnam was a very dragged out war and there was a huge number of causalities. After all of the years of fighting, the North ended up invading the South anyway so they should pay the most attention to this lesson.
2. I do not think that the United States paid much attention to this lesson because currently, the conflict in the Middle East is not an official war just like Vietnam. THe president is just carrying out actions of war without actually declaring it. As a result, it has been a conflict that has lasted for a very long time just like Vietnam rather than being quick and decisive.
3. I agree with Angelica. The United States is not all-powerful. This is evident in both Korea and Vietnam because after all of our efforts to try and stop the spread of communism, we ultimately failed. Korea is still not united, and the North invaded Vietnam right after the years of conflict finally ended.
Andy Burns P3
1)I think the most important lesson to learn from vietnam is lesson A, fight to win. Why would you go to war and not want to win, that just does not make sense. If you do not want to win the war, how do you know when to leave. You should know the consequences of war both enternal, and external, before going to war.
2) I think we have learned this lesson as evidenced by the persion golf war. Also in iraq, we fought to win and we did.
3) I agree with Coreen that we lost in vietnam, but the intent was to learn a lesson and I think we did.
Alexander Mazurek period 4
1) I believe that the most important lesson that America should have taken out of Vietnam is lesson B, Make it Quick; make it decisive. In Vietnam the war last form November 1, 1955 to the fall of Saigon in April 30, 1975. The Vietnam war was the long war in American history, even thou it was not a declared war by the United States, the fact that the war happen over a period of twenty years with little to no clear result in regards to winning was the major fact that the people eventual lost hope in winning the war. Even thou the war in Iraq and Afghanistan have not last for twenty years the outcome has been the same; a war that has last too long without a clear decisive victory and eventually people losing of in the cause of the war and the hope that it can be won.
2) I believe that we have not learned these lessons in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have been in the Iraq conflicted from March 20, 2003 and in Afghanistan from October 7, 2001. These war have both been long, drawn out wars that have left many Americans with a sense of hopelessness that the war can be won. These people start to pressure their government to draw out of the war and eventually the government will if the situation has not improved. This is one of the reasons why Vietnam failed; it did not have the support of the people at the end of the war.
3) I agree with Coreen because we both had similar appoints about this assignment in regards with are choice and our examples dealing with Iraq and Afghanistan.
Kevin Charbonneau period 4
1.The USA should have learned from it's struggle in Vietnam that pushing a certain belief onto people who want nothing more than to stop people from invading their home is maybe not the best idea. Maybe letting countries who want to fall under communism is worth keeping a couple thousand young men from dying in a worthless proxy war.
2. America still has a problem with imperialism as we continue to push our influence on countries like Afghanistan or Iraq, and a lot of the reason there is so much violence is because people don't like us invading their country and telling them what to do.
3. I agree wit the person below me that we don't have all the power, but it's not the most important lesson to take back from Vietnam. It's the idea that scrutinizing on a small country just to keep countries from going against capitalism is a stupid idea.
Jack H. Period 3
1) The USA should have learned the lesson that they are not all-powerful. Even though we have a bigger army than Vietnam and our country is better off than theirs, they still have things they can beat us at and the USA should have taken that away from this conflict. It is more important than the others because now before the USA goes into any war, they should ask themselves if they really know the enemy well enough to be able to defeat them.
2) The USA didn't really need to learn this lesson in Iraq because according to most people in politics right now it is considered to be a success. So it is a good thing that the USA did not have to learn this harsh lesson, but a bad thing because now we believe we can fix any problem in the world.
3) I agree with Kevin because we should not push our beliefs on a country who want nothing to do with our belief system but we should at least have the right to go in and try to stop Communism and maybe set up a new political system for that country.
1) I think that the most important mission to learn from Vietnam is that we should fight to win. The best defense is a good offense, and if we had used our full military forces against them, we could have easily defeated them. After all, the U.S. was all-powerful.
2) I think that the U.S. has learned this lesson. After all, we haven't lost a war yet.
3)Yeah, makes sense. I agree that the U.S. shouldn't get involved where we don't belong. Mmhm.
Jon C. 3
1. The most important lesson that the United states should have learned from the war is that in order to win you must make it quick and decisive. Along with the enourmous cost of a drawn out war, the longer a war drags out the less support the American people will have for it. I beleive that this is the most important lesson because if this is put to mind then long drawn out wars that cost billions of dollars and thousands of lives would cease to exist.
2. Obviously we did not learn this particular lesson from the vietnam war. Because as can be seen in the war in Iraq, a long drawn out war that cost billions of dollars happened again.
3. I agree with the person who posted before me that the U.S. is not all powerful. The united states must realize that they are not invincible and if they continue to fight wars that draw out that they wont win them all. They need to consider in more depth the cost versus the rewards.
1) I believe that most important lesson the U.S. can take from this costly experience is that the U.S. is NOT all-powerful.I find this to be the a very important lesson because in my opinion,Americans(I'm a American,too. Just wanted to point that out) have this illusion that we have the capabilities to solve all the world's problems. This is simply not true. At that point in time, the U.S. had this picture of themselves defeating north Vietnam in a very simple manner. However, as time went on the war grew more costly, the U.S. came to the realization that Vietnam was winnable.The Vietnamese had much more in their favor. The Vietnamese were fighting in their own homeland, plus North Vietnam was not going give up its fight to reunite it people. They were willing to go to extremes to win. These were factors the U.S. did not have on its side.
2) I personally don't believe the U.S. has learned this lesson. Our nation has spent over ten years in Afghanistan. We have paid with the lives of thousands of military personnel. Plus, we spend 2 billion dollars a month on this war. With such high costs we such be seeing spectacular results. However, results have been significantly less than that. I believe that in end, the afghan war will not achieve the success the U.S. hoped for. The Afghan public is not all too happy about a foreign power intervening in its affairs. In addition, the militants we are fighting are on their home turf. This a significant leg-up for them and a disadvantage to us.1) I believe that most important lesson the U.S. can take from this costly experience is that the U.S. is NOT all-powerful.I find this to be the a very important lesson because in my opinion,Americans(I'm a American,too. Just wanted to point that out) have this illusion that we have the capabilities to solve all the world's problems. This is simply not true. At that point in time, the U.S. had this picture of themselves defeating north Vietnam in a very simple manner. However, as time went on the war grew more costly, the U.S. came to the realization that Vietnam was unwinnable.
3 I agree with the person above in regards to the length of U.S. involvement. The U.S should have have made their military involvement in Vietnam much, much shorter. In turn lessening the costs of this gruesome and unnecessary war.
1) I believe that most important lesson the U.S. can take from this costly experience is that the U.S. is NOT all-powerful.I find this to be the a very important lesson because in my opinion,Americans(I'm a American,too. Just wanted to point that out) have this illusion that we have the capabilities to solve all the world's problems. This is simply not true. At that point in time, the U.S. had this picture of themselves defeating north Vietnam in a very simple manner. However, as time went on the war grew more costly, the U.S. came to the realization that Vietnam was winnable.The Vietnamese had much more in their favor. The Vietnamese were fighting in their own homeland, plus North Vietnam was not going give up its fight to reunite it people. They were willing to go to extremes to win. These were factors the U.S. did not have on its side.
2) I personally don't believe the U.S. has learned this lesson. Our nation has spent over ten years in Afghanistan. We have paid with the lives of thousands of military personnel. Plus, we spend 2 billion dollars a month on this war. With such high costs we such be seeing spectacular results. However, results have been significantly less than that. I believe that in end, the afghan war will not achieve the success the U.S. hoped for. The Afghan public is not all too happy about a foreign power intervening in its affairs. In addition, the militants we are fighting are on their home turf. This a significant leg-up for them and a disadvantage to us.1) I believe that most important lesson the U.S. can take from this costly experience is that the U.S. is NOT all-powerful.I find this to be the a very important lesson because in my opinion,Americans(I'm a American,too. Just wanted to point that out) have this illusion that we have the capabilities to solve all the world's problems. This is simply not true. At that point in time, the U.S. had this picture of themselves defeating north Vietnam in a very simple manner. However, as time went on the war grew more costly, the U.S. came to the realization that Vietnam was unwinnable.
3 I agree with the person above in regards to the length of U.S. involvement. The U.S should have have made their military involvement in Vietnam much, much shorter. In turn lessening the costs of this gruesome and unnecessary war.
Marcos C. (Yes, I posted twice).
Josh B. 3rd
1) The lesson that I feel was most important for the U.S. to learn from the experiences in the Vietnam conflict was Lesson F, the United States is not all-powerful. Sure, we may have more resources than other countries but it doesn't mean that we will always be able to do what we want. I think that this is most important because the U.S. should avoid acting like it has enough power to do anything, since it can lead to problems.
2) I feel like the U.S. hasn't learned this lesson since we still continue to get involved in other countries affairs, expecting to resolve conflicts quickly. Although, it is difficult to learn this lesson when we end up getting what we want which leads us to reach for more goals.
3)I agree with the post above because for one thing they have the same opinion as me, and also they give a lot of information proving this idea such as that the U.S. is spending 2 billion per month on the war, but in the end we most likely won't end up with everything we were hoping to achieve.
Jenni M. 4th
1. The most important lesson the United States should have learned from the Vietnam conflict was Lesson A: Fight to win; there is no substitute for victory. This is because if you don't fight to win, the fighting may never end. It could go on until someone quits.
2. The USA did actually follow this lesson in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. The US built up sufficient force that it could just overrun the enemy. It had enough force not only to win, but to have a low level of casualties.
3. I agree with the point of view of the post above. While the US may have overwhelming power to defeat an army, if the people are fighting for their home, family, and beliefs, they might never be defeated.
Emily S
Period 3
1. I believe that Lesson B (Make it quick; make it decisive) is one of the most important lessons that the USA should have learned after experiencing the Vietnam conflict. I believe that this lesson is important because multiple times throughout American history, the USA has fought in wars for multiple years and spent large amounts of money for causes that may not directly benefit the United States.
2. I don't think that the USA has learned this lesson yet considering that we've been in Iraq for nine years now and spent more than one trillion dollars on Iraq and Afghanistan combined. (http://costofwar.com/en/)
3. I also agree with the view of the person who posted before me. All of the lessons mentioned in the packet have valid points. The person who posted before me thought that Lesson F was most important, and I agree that the USA expects to resolve conflicts quickly but then drag them out for multiple years.
Ben B. Period: 4
1) I believe that the most important lesson that the United States should have learned from the Vietnam War was letter B (Make it quick; make it decisive). Drawing out any war is costly in so many aspects that if it cannot be avoided, it should be ended as soon as possible.
2) I do not believe that the United States has learned its lesson, evident in the fact that the war in Afghanistan has gone on for over 10 years. This war has been the second longest continuous war in the history of the United States, only surpassed by the Vietnam War. I believe the United States should have worked harder to end the war instead of prolonging it (even though some issues needed time).
3) Although I chose the most important lesson to be lesson B, my next choice would have been lesson F. I agree that the mentality that the United States is all-powerful is the incorrect way of approaching a war, and that the United States has not been able to learn that lesson as well.
1) I think that the most important lesson that we as a country should have learned from Vietnam is to make it quick and to make it decisive. This is the most important lesson because the longer the war the more people are bound to criticize it because it costs more and impacts more people.
2)No I don't think that we did learn this lesson in recent conflicts. Although they were long like Vietnam, It did not affect the same amount of Americans as Vietnam did in the way they did. Now when you go home at night you don't see the blood and violence of Afghanistan on the news but you did during the Vietnam war.
3)I agree with the person before me we both said that lesson B was the most important.
1) The most important lesson the USA should have learned from its experiences in the Vietnam Conflict would be lesson F: the US is not all-powerful. The USA had won every war up to this point, and losing was a complete shock to the US. It's an important lesson to learn because we have to know that we can't win them all.
2)I don't think the USA has learned it's lesson. The US became involved in Iraq based upon suspicion thinking that they would be able to make peace without the help of the UN since the UN wasn't helping. And look where this conflict has gotten us today. We are spending billions of dollars a day on the military. An ending point, a resolution, a solution to the conflict doesn't seem clear at this moment in time.
3) I disagree with the person above me in that making it quick, and making it decisive isn't always the best option. Yes, we all want the war to be short and end decisively, but sometimes that's not the best option. Some conflicts need a long period of time in order to end successfully so that the issues of the conflict can be worked out for good.
Maddie L. p.4
1. I believe that the most important lesson that the United States should have learned in Vietnam is Lesson F: The United States is not all-powerful. As a country, the U.S. has a superiority complex that has led to many unnecessary conflicts. Though the U.S. is an important world power, we seem to place more importance on ourselves than we deserve. Making the assumption that we are invincible could eventually lead to our demise or fall from power as it has many times in the past.
2. I believe that we learned our lesson to a certain degree. There are some conflicts that were avoided but others, such as Afghanistan and/or Iraq were not necessary to protecting our country. We need to learn which battles will be beneficial to both Americans and citizens of other involved countries and only intervene if absolutely necessary.
3. To a certain extent, I agree with John Paul. I chose lesson I, but I think that lesson B is also very important. Long, drawn out wars take a major toll on all involved countries and do not seem to accomplish much more than a shorter war could.
The most important lesson the US should have learned from Vietnam was to "not get involved in ground wars on the Asian Mainland." Unfortunately, for Americans, they haven't learned this quite yet. This is most important because it is the first step to realizing we shouldn’t jump into anyone else’s business when we have no reason to be there. Stopping the spread of communism had nothing to do with America, proving we were superior did however. We still get in unnecessary war with nearly everyone on the planet (hyperbole I know, but still, it's a lot more than there needs to be. We did not learn this lesson. Look at what we did since. Granted we haven't declared war on any Asian mainland country since, but then again, Nam wasn't even declared "war," it was just a peacetime motion the president saw fit. We are too concerned everywhere but here. I agree with Maddie for the most part, she sees the true value of most American war; no value. She points out the flaws in the Iraq and Afghanistan war and how it is spilling into Iran, as it seems to be a foothold in the Middle East oil field.
Allie Johnson Hour 4
1) I think the most important lesson the US should have learned was lesson B: Make it quick; make it decisive. If you want to end a situation, don't beat around the bush. Simply end it as quick as possible so that the least amount of people are involved.
2) I believe that we have not necessarily learned our lesson because the United States somewhat tends to drag out conflicts. We do not take the quickest way. We try to make long term changes, which does not always help us.
3) I agree with the person before me in saying that the US is not all-powerful, but we are one of the biggest countries in the world and we hold a lot of weight. Although we cannot do whatever we wish, we have a lot of say in the world.
Jon F. 4
I think that the lesson we should have learned from Vietnam is that we should not get involved with countries that are on a mission to unite their people in one country.
I do not think we have learned that lesson because the government is at times blind to other peoples ideas.
I would have to agree with Mago's lesson execpt for the fact of the ignoring the Asian mainland.
1) Lesson F: The United States is not all powerful.
2)I feel we have not learned that lesson as we continually get involved in Middle Eastern affairs which pose no threat to American citizens. We need to learn that holding back developing countries is not our place and only creates animosity toward our nation.
3)I agree with the previous statements about not learning our lesson about how powerful we really are. And although our country is strong it should be more focused on actual danger to the country
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