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COMMENTARY: Comparing and contrasting the Iran and Vietnam wars

The other day I asked my students in U.S. foreign policy class to think about the relevance of the Vietnam War to the ongoing war in Iran. More specifically, I wanted them to identify the similarities and differences between the two wars.

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What is immediately striking is how domestic politics played such a seminal role in both conflicts. While American public opinion was generally in favour of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam in the early years, things started to turn very sour after U.S. soldiers started arriving stateside in flag-draped coffins and body bags. As for Iran, just about every single poll and TV newscast since the first few weeks of the war have illustrated an overwhelming public repudiation of President Trump’s military adventurism.

The electoral implications were also quite apparent for the two wars. The U.S.-Iran War is clearly having a positive effect on the Democratic Party’s electability – as it looks set to capture both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the Nov. 3 midterms. And Democratic President Lyndon Johnson, reading the political tea leaves from the Vietnam fallout, opted not to contest the 1968 U.S. presidential........

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