CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Bombing Them Back to the Stone Age: Is Iran Vietnam 2.0?

A-4E Skyhawks attacking Phuong Dinh bridge in 1967. Photo: LCdr. Jerry Breast, US Navy.

Comparisons are always risky. Even identical twins are not exactly alike. But some phrases echo across decades with unsettling familiarity. For those of a certain generation, hearing Donald Trump threaten Iran—“We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Age where they belong”—brought back memories of General Curtis LeMay’s infamous remark: “We’re going to bomb them back into the Stone Age,” attributed to U.S. air war strategy in North Vietnam.

Is the U.S. war against Iran Vietnam 2.0? Or is it another example of America’s persistent reliance on military force to solve political problems?

The Vietnam War remains one of the clearest examples of the limits of overwhelming military force. The scale of its human and environmental consequences still shapes how later conflicts are judged. While it is too early to compare the two wars in depth, Vietnam remains precedent-setting as a demonstration of a failed military intervention. Approximately 3,000,000 Vietnamese were killed, including civilians and military personnel. Long-term collateral damage is estimated at about 150,000–400,000 birth defects linked to exposure to Agent Orange.

The Vietnam War cost more than 58,000 American lives.

Despite its military superiority, the U.S. failed to achieve its primary political objective. Southeast Asia did not become a communist sphere of influence even after the U.S. dropped more bombs on Vietnam than all of World War II combined.

In the current U.S. war with Iran, estimates of Iranian deaths vary. Conservative numbers place the death toll at roughly 3,400 to 7,600 killed inside Iran. The composition of those deaths matters. Reports suggest a significant proportion are civilians, including children, alongside military........

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