FALLING DOMINOES: THE UNITED STATES, VIETNAM AND THE WAR IN IRAQ

When the United States went to war in Iraq in March 2003, many Americans looked to past events to understand the confl ict. Both supporters and critics of the war selectively used American history to buttress their arguments. As with any American military intervention since 1975, critics warned that Iraq would become another Vietnam. They argued that the United States was simply repeating the disastrous mistakes of the 1960s and cautioned that Iraq, like Vietnam, would become a quagmire for the United States.