Vietnam War With The War In Iraq example essay topic

696 words
The war in Vietnam and the war in Iraq differ in many ways such as; the reason for war, US support, the cost, number of deaths, and the time and place. In this essay I am going to compare the Vietnam War with the war in Iraq describing three ways in which the war in Vietnam differs from the war in Iraq. Three ways the two wars differ are the reason for war, number of deaths, and the cost. The Vietnam War was a war over communism that started in 1950, when Ho Chi Minh, the national leader of Vietnam, introduced a communist government into North Vietnam. In 1954 it was decided to split the country at the 17th parallel, and was ruled under opposing governments, Bao Dai leading the south and Ho Chi Min the north. North Vietnam went to war with South Vietnam with the north being supported by Russia and China, as they were also Communist countries, and the south being supported by Britain and the USA.

The Americans entered the war in 1964 because they believed in the domino theory, that if one nation fell into communism then other nations would follow. Soon America found it almost impossible to fight against people who were so determined to win, so America pulled its troops out of Vietnam in 1973. Withdrawing the American troops resulted in the South Vietnamese forces being defeated by the communists who then took over the country. The war in Iraq was declared in March 2003 for many reasons. Some of the reasons are to free Iraq, the oil, and because Saddam Hussein did not allow weapons inspectors search for nuclear weapons. The US wanted to take over Iraq and free its people from the torture they had been enduring for so long.

Saddam Hussein had developed weapons of mass destruction that posed a long-term threat to America. He denied weapons inspectors access to search for nuclear war weapons and this served as a threat to other countries. The aim had been the destruction of the Iraqi society enabling the US and Britain to gain control of Iraq's huge oil reserves. The Vietnam War was America's longest war, lasting about 8 years, the number of deaths in the war were one of the highest compared to the number of deaths in previous wars. The Vietnam War claimed the lives of more then 58,000 Americans. Another 304,000 Americans were wounded.

The war in Iraq started March 2003 and is still going on today, March 2005. For a two year was so far there is a number of American soldiers who died in combat. There are an estimated number of about 4,800 American soldiers that lost their lives fighting for this country. And the number of American soldiers that were injured was around 11,344.

The Vietnam War cost America billions of dollars, much more then previous wars. Financially the Vietnam War presently cost America over $111 billion. In the 1990's the war cost America more, about $400 billion. It cost about an average of $61.8 billion per year or $5.15 billion per month. The on-going war in Iraq is by far the most expensive war America has been through.

It is costing America about $159,000,000,000 and this cost increases every single day. President Bush announced on March 20, 2005 that he will ask Congress for $87 billion for U.S. operations next year in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. He is also going to ask for $66 billion for military and intelligence efforts, and $21 billion for reconstruction. The war in Iraq and the war in Vietnam have many differences, being the reasons for war, the number of soldiers who lost their lives, and the financial cost. The reason for the Vietnam War was communism and the many reasons for the Iraq War are because Saddam Hussein did not allow weapons inspectors search for nuclear weapons, to free Iraq from the torture it has been enduring, and to take over Iraq's oil reserves..