Comparing US Combat Troops Sent to Vietnam and to Afghanistan
How are the two events described in the headlines above different from one another?
When comparing the events of US combat troops being sent to Vietnam after the Gulf of Tonkin incident and to Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it is evident that these two incidents have some significant differences.
In the case of Vietnam, the United States was already involved in the conflict before the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. The resolution then led to a full-scale commitment of many combat troops, escalating the US military involvement in the Vietnam War. On the other hand, the US was not at war in Afghanistan until after the devastating 9-11 attacks occurred.
The Gulf of Tonkin incident involved allegations of attacks that were later proven to not have occurred as claimed by the US government at the time. In contrast, the 9-11 attacks were tragically real and had a profound impact on the American people and the world as a whole.
Furthermore, the nature of the attacks in each case differed significantly. The Gulf of Tonkin incident involved military targets, with torpedoes being fired at US battleships. Conversely, the 9-11 attacks targeted civilian locations, such as the World Trade Center in New York City, leading to the loss of many innocent lives.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the events leading to the deployment of US combat troops to Vietnam and Afghanistan were vastly different in terms of historical context, nature of the attacks, and the subsequent military response.