Echoes of Johnson's Vietnam arguments in Bush's Iraq justification

While the Bush Administration and its supporters dislike any comparison between the Vietnam War and the current Iraqi conflict, there are interesting comparisons between the presidential rhetoric used to support both efforts. While there are many differences between the wars -- for example, there is no single enemy to negotiate with in Iraq -- the language  and justification for continuing these two (increasingly) unpopular military conflicts is very similar.


1965: "... we must fight if we are to live in a world where every country can shape its own destiny."

Most people would argue that in hindsight, Vietnam, or at least the way the military campaign was conducted and the political support for the ever-changing South Vietnamese leadership was handled, was a disaster. In the end, over 58,249 US military personnel were killed.

President Johnson gave a speech in April, 1965 that is very familiar in terms of the rhetoric that we hear today on why we should remain committed to Iraq. In 1965, the US had just begun to deploy combat troops (there were plenty of "advisors" in country, but the first  combat troops, the Marines, arrived in March). With thousands of soldiers beginning to flow into Vietnam, the President said:

The reason for fighting 

"Tonight Americans and Asians are dying for a world where each people may choose its own path to change. This is the principle for which our ancestors fought in the valleys of Pennsylvania. It is the principle for which our sons fight tonight in the jungles of Vietnam."

"We fight because we must fight if we are to live in a world where every country can shape its own destiny. And only in such a world will our own freedom be finally secure."

The conflict's brutality 

"And it is a war of unparalleled brutality. Simple farmers are the targets of assassination and kidnapping. Women and children are strangled in the night because their men are loyal to their government. And helpless villages are ravaged by sneak attacks. Large-scale raids are conducted on towns, and terror strikes in the heart of cities."

Keeping America's promise

"We are there because we have a promise to keep. Since 1954 every American President has offered support to the people of South Vietnam. We have helped to build, and we have helped to defend. Thus, over many years, we have made a national pledge to help South Vietnam defend its independence."

"And I intend to keep that promise. To dishonor that pledge, to abandon this small and brave nation to its enemies, and to the terror that must follow, would be an unforgivable wrong."

The consequences of leaving

"To leave Vietnam to its fate would shake the confidence of all these people in the value of an American commitment and in the value of America's word. The result would be increased unrest and instability, and even wider war."

"Let no one think for a moment that retreat from Vietnam would bring an end to conflict. The battle would be renewed in one country and then another."

The objective 

"Our objective is the independence of South Vietnam, and its freedom from attack. We want nothing for ourselves -- only that the people of South Vietnam be allowed to guide their own country in their own way."

On escalation 

"In recent months attacks on South Vietnam were stepped up. Thus, it became necessary for us to increase our response and to make attacks by air. This is not a change of purpose. It is a change in what we believe that purpose requires."

America will not tire or be defeated 

"And we do this to convince the leaders of North Vietnam--and all who seek to share their conquest--of a very simple fact: We will not be defeated. We will not grow tired. We will not withdraw, either openly or under the cloak of a meaningless agreement." 

1966: "... we will stay as long as aggression commands us to battle."

As the escalation in Vietnam continued, Johnson reiterated his stance that America could not retreat and that victory would be achieved. In his January, 1966 State of the Union speech, he stated that:

Staying the course 

"We will stay because a just nation cannot leave to the cruelties of its enemies a people who have staked their lives and independence on America's solemn pledge -- a pledge which has grown through the commitments of three American Presidents."

"To yield to force in Vietnam would weaken that confidence, would undermine the independence of many lands, and would whet the appetite of aggression. We would have to fight in one land, and then we would have to fight in another -- or abandon much of Asia to the domination of Communists."

The enemy is losing

"The enemy is no longer close to victory. Time is no longer on his side. There is no cause to doubt the American commitment."

Freedom is the goal 

"We seek neither territory nor bases, economic domination or military alliance in Vietnam. We fight for the principle of self-determination -- that the people of South Vietnam should be able to choose their own course, choose it in free elections without violence, without terror, and without fear."

Everything the troops need they will get 

"But we will give our fighting men what they must have: every gun, and every dollar, and every decision--whatever the cost or whatever the challenge."

America will never give up 

"And let me be absolutely clear: The days may become months, and the months may become years, but we will stay as long as aggression commands us to battle."

1967: "... the enemy can no longer succeed on the battlefield."

A year later, in his 1967 State of the Union address, the President said:

We will be worse off later if we back down now 

"We have chosen to fight a limited war in Vietnam in an attempt to prevent a larger war -- a war almost certain to follow, I believe, if the Communists succeed in overrunning and taking over South Vietnam by aggression and by force. I believe, and I am supported by some authority, that if they are not checked now the world can expect to pay a greater price to check them later."

The war will go on for some time 

"I wish I could report to you that the conflict is almost over. This I cannot do. We face more cost, more loss, and more agony. For the end is not yet. I cannot promise you that it will come this year -- or come next year. Our adversary still believes, I think, tonight, that he can go on fighting longer than we can, and longer than we and our allies will be prepared to stand up and resist."

The enemy can't win 

"General Westmoreland reports that the enemy can no longer succeed on the battlefield."

The Vietnamese have to eventually take over 

"And this means reducing the terrorism and the armed attacks which kidnaped and killed 26,900 civilians in the last 32 months, to levels where they can be successfully controlled by the regular South Vietnamese security forces."

"We can help, but only they can win this part of the war. Their task is to build and protect a new life in each rural province."

We've already proven our point 

"One result of our stand in Vietnam is already clear. It is this: The peoples of Asia now know that the door to independence is not going to be slammed shut. They know that it is possible for them to choose their own national destinies -- without coercion."

America's will determine if we win

"How long it will take I cannot prophesy. I only know that the will of the American people, I think, is tonight being tested. Whether we can fight a war of limited objectives over a period of time, and keep alive the hope of independence and stability for people other than ourselves; whether we can continue to act with restraint when the temptation to 'get it over with' is inviting but dangerous; whether we can accept the necessity of choosing 'a great evil in order to ward off a greater'; whether we can do these without arousing the hatreds and the passions that are ordinarily loosed in time of war -- on all these questions so much turns."

1968: "Peace will come because Asians were willing to work for it -- and to sacrifice for it ..."

After the Tet offensive, America was shocked by the strength and resolve of the enemy. Even though Tet was actually a major military victory for the US, support for the war was falling and the country was violently divided. With the Great Society put on the backburner as more soldiers were killed and demonstrators marched, the President announced that he would not seek reelection. In a March, 1968 speech, he said:

We won Tet, but this war will not end soon

"Their attack--during the Tet holidays--failed to achieve its principal objectives."

"But tragically, this is also clear: Many men--on both sides of the struggle--will be lost. A nation that has already suffered 20 years of warfare will suffer once again. Armies on both sides will take new casualties. And the war will go on."

"So, tonight, in the hope that this action will lead to early talks, I am taking the first step to deescalate the conflict."

It's up to the Vietnamese to win this war 

"Our presence there has always rested on this basic belief: The main burden of preserving their freedom must be carried out by them -- by the South Vietnamese themselves. We and our allies can only help to provide a shield behind which the people of South Vietnam can survive and can grow and develop. On their efforts -- on their determination and resourcefulness -- the outcome will ultimately depend."

The Vietnamese will be able to do it with our support

"I pay tribute once again tonight to the great courage and endurance of its people. South Vietnam supports armed forces tonight of almost 700,000 men -- and I call your attention to the fact that this is the equivalent of more than 10 million in our own population. Its people maintain their firm determination to be free of domination by the North."

"We shall accelerate the reequipment of South Vietnam's armed forces -- in order to meet the enemy's increased firepower. This will enable them progressively to undertake a larger share of combat operations against the Communist invaders."

"Peace will come because Asians were willing to work for it--and to sacrifice for it--and to die by the thousands for it. But let it never be forgotten: Peace will come also because America sent her sons to help secure it."

Despite backing off, this was a vital war

"Throughout this entire, long period, I have been sustained by a single principle: that what we are doing now, in Vietnam, is vital not only to the security of Southeast Asia, but it is vital to the security of every American."

"I believe that a peaceful Asia is far nearer to reality because of what America has done in Vietnam. I believe that the men who endure the dangers of battle -- fighting there for us tonight -- are helping the entire world avoid far greater conflicts, far wider wars, far more destruction, than this one."

It's too much -- no more for me

"With America's sons in the fields far away, with America's future under challenge right here at home, with our hopes and the world's hopes for peace in the balance every day, I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or to any duties other than the awesome duties of this office--the Presidency of your country. Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President."

1973: "... let us be proud of those who sacrificed, who gave their lives so that the people of South Vietnam might live in freedom ..."

In his January 23, 1973 speech announcing the end of the military portion of the Vietnam war, President Nixon said:

"Now that we have achieved an honorable agreement, let us be proud that America did not settle for a peace that would have betrayed our allies, that would have abandoned our prisoners of war, or that would have ended the war for us but would have continued the war for the 50 million people of Indochina."

"Let us be proud of the 2 1/2 million young Americans who served in Vietnam, who served with honor and distinction in one of the most selfless enterprises in the history of nations.

"And let us be proud of those who sacrificed, who gave their lives so that the people of South Vietnam might live in freedom and so that the world might live in peace."

Of course, the ultimate footnote to this post, is that America left and South Vietnam fell. According to the CIA World Fact Book:

"US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South reuniting the country under Communist rule."

Let's hope that we aren't repeating history, for everyone's sake, particularly our soldiers and their families who are bearing the greatest burden of this current effort to spread freedom.