Bush Draws Iraq/Vietnam Comparison
I'm curious what anyone else thought about this article about Bush's comments comparing the Iraq and Vietnam wars:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061117/..._pr_wh/bush_60
I noticed a few Vietnam vets on this site and I was interested in what any of you might think.
Look at Lebanon, not Vietnam
I am not a Vietnam vet so I won't go there.
I am a Lebanon vet, however, and that is the real comparison we need to be making because that is where the parallels in ethnic and religious schisms are closest. 1975 to 2006 Lebanon offers a pretty good model for how Iraq may look like 5, 10, or more years from now. The big differences are of course, the Lebanese do not have the oil reserves and the Christians have traditionally been the dominant group. The simularities howver are striking: in both the Shia have emerged as a force to be reckoned with. Nasrallah and Hisballah are models for Muqtada al Sar and his militia, both have larger neighbors more than willing to meddle/intervene in their own interests, and Iraq like Lebanon has the challenge of competing ethnic/sectarian groups pursuing their own agendas. Sadly, I would say the Lebanese were in 1975 and now are in 2006 light years ahead of the Iraqis in mastering this art.
Best
Tom
Leavenworth Paper on Dom Rep
Quote:
Originally Posted by
slapout9
Not true, there was a very successful COIN operation in 1965 in the Dominican Republic. It involved the 82nd Airborne and the 6th MEU. Not much has been written about this because it was handled rather quickly compared to most COIN ops. But there are definitely some lessons learned that we have forgotten, one in particular was the extensive use of PSYOp's.
Here is a link for the 82nd version of what happened. Short article but it is revealing. Anyone else on this site that knows anything about this or where more information is I would appreciate knowing about it.
http://www.bragg.army.mil/history/Hi.../PowerPack.htm
See Larry Yates Leavenorth Paper at CSI Press for a detailed analysis of DomRep CSI Press
Also for a look at early ops in Lebanon see Roger Spiller's Leavenworth Paper at CSI Press
Both offer great insights on COIN and stabiliy ops in general.
Best
Tom