Vietnam to Iraq – America’s Lessons Never Learned
Published on March 7, 2019 by Norvell B. DeAtkine
“We have а professional and moral responsibility to learn the relevant lessons of the recent past.†The foreword of the recently released report, The U.S. Army in the Iraq War (the Iraq Report) sets forth the goal of what would become the U.S. government’s longest and most detailed study of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and the Iraq conflict thus far.
“OIF is а sober reminder that technological advantages and standoff weapons alone cannot render a decision,†writes General Mark A. Milley, 39th Chief of Staff, U.S. Army. “[T]hat the promise of short wars is often elusive; that the ends, ways, and means must be in balance; that our Army must understand the type of war we are engaged with in order to adapt as necessary; that decisions in war occur on the ground in the mud and dirt; and that timeless factors such as human agency, chance, and an enemy’s conviction, all shape а war’s outcome.â€
The United States Army War College (USAWC) Iraq Report was presented to the American public as a compendium of lessons learned about the Iraq War, from the successes of Operation Iraqi Freedom, to the messy, bloody aftermath.
https://limacharlienews.com/foreign-policy/vietnam-to-iraq/
