Iran-Afghan War: Vietnam revisited?

1. A WebQuest Iran-Afghan War: Vietnam revisited?

2. Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits Iran AFGHAN War WebQuest

3. The United States’ involvement in the conflict known as the Vietnam War is dated to have begun in 1965; however, indirect action had already begun by the CIA under the auspice of Special Activities Division which led Hmong tribesmen into Laos and Vietnam. The Phoenix Program and Military Assistance and Command Vietnam Studies and Observation Group originally named Special Operations Group [MAC-V SOG] also ran covert missions to deter North Vietnam influence from spreading over South Vietnam) The Viet-Minh, who were supported by the U.S. and their allies with finance, equipment and military advisors during the wars with Japan and France were ever increasingly siding with North Vietnam because the group blamed foreign exploitation for the famine of 1944-45 which left 1 million dead. Introduction picture

4. Grouped with the U.S. support of Diem, the first South Vietnamese President whom the common Vietnamese people believed helped the French rule over the country and would later align his government with the U.S. Diem was considered a puppet ruler. U.S. involvement can actually be traced to the Kennedy administration during 1961 when special trained guerrilla forces (Green Berets) from the U.S. were deployed to aid the South Vietnamese Army. The reasoning for the involvement by the U.S. according to President Kennedy was that “Now we have a problem making our power credible and Vietnam looks like the place" as reported by James Reston of The New York Times. This was during the Cold War and Kennedy had to do something about the spread of Communism and his administration was drawing the line in Vietnam. Introduction picture

5. Taking the origins of the Vietnam War into consideration, today we are faced with a war long since ceased being legally considered a war but with casualties as real as the onslaught of the Iraq War. The Iraq War began on March 20, 2003; the invasion of Iraq was posted upon the auspice of stamping out terrorism due to Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, harboring of terrorists and the financial support for families of Palestinian suicide bombers, Iraqi government human rights abuse and the opportunity for the U.S. and the coalition forces to help spread democracy. U.S. President G.W. Bush along with British Prime Minister Tony Blair spearheaded the coalition of multinational forces. Much like the Vietnam Conflict, the U.S. involvement in this region did not begin in 2003; the U.S. had given aide to the Iranian military in the form of weapons even though there was an arms embargo against them. This was at the center of the Iran-Contra affair during President Ronald Reagan’s administration. The United States’ involvement in these arms deals prompted the new government of Saddam Hussein to view the Iran-Iraq War of 1980 as a C.I.A. sponsored attack on Iraq. The first Operation Desert/Desert Shield was also a coalition war against Iraq because of the invasion of Kuwait. Saddam Hussein accused Kuwait of slant drilling into Iraqi oil fields. After Kuwait disregarded the warnings Saddam had issued, the Iraqi leader ordered the invasion of Kuwait and nationalized the oil fields while looting the country’s riches on August 2, 1990. The U.S. involvement began on January 17, 1991 with extensive bombing that laid way for a massive military assault that sent thousands of Iraqi soldiers surrendering. History revisited???

6. The Persian Gulf War lasted 6 months and 26 days, almost the same amount of time that the Vietnam Conflict was estimated to take initially. The current situation in Iraq has been ongoing for 7 years and 200 plus days and counting. Some say the parameters that have been set up by the U.S. are too broad and cannot be achieved by military occupation. Current President Obama has started the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, however casualties continue every day. The ongoing conflict has no end in sight, the public opinion of the war has changed and with current economic conditions of the U.S. economy; the American people are growing ever more restless by the expenditure of U.S. tax dollars financing an unpopular war. History revisited?????

7. It has been said that the Iran Afghan War is comparable to the Vietnam War. That the same mistakes we made in the 60’s are being repeated. • The purpose of this WebQuest is to build a framework to validate or disprove this assertion. During your quest you will draw parallels between the two wars in areas such as: • Purpose (public and hidden agendas) • Resources supplied • Timing of involvement • Political influences • Military and political strategies • Etc. Task

8. Form a Hypothesis • As a researcher and individual you have already been exposed to information regarding the Vietnam and Iran /Afghan Wars. Where do you initially stand on this question? Acknowledge your bias and detail your reasoning. Develop a list of questions that will drive your deeper investigation into the matter. • Experiment / Observation • The following page identifies numerous websites and sources of information regarding both wars. Use these to collect data. • Analysis • Organize the facts you uncover to address the questions framed in your hypothesis. They should cover the areas mentioned in the Task (i.e. purpose of the war, timing of involvement, political and military strategies, etc. ) • Conclusion • Summarize your findings and conclude whether your original opinion has been sustained or modified in any way. • Identify any lessons learned from Vietnam that you feel apply in the more recent Iran – Afghan conflict. Process This question in history will be investigated by employing the scientific method

9. Process – Information Sources Vietnam War Iran-Afghan War http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/vietnam2.htm http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/vietnam/vietnamwar.htm http://www.understandingwar.org/themenode/iran-and-afghanistan http://www.opendemocracy.net/paul-rogers/tale-of-three-wars-afghanistan-iraqiran

10. Timeline for both wars • Concept map for both wars, detailing such categories as: • Purpose (public and hidden agendas) • Resources supplied • Timing of involvement • Political influences • Military and political strategies • Other per your defined research questions • Venn Diagram highlighting where the two wars intersect • Paper • Summarizing your initial point of view and research questions • Summarize and describe findings as documented in the concept map and Venn diagrams • Refine your initial hypothesis / opinion as appropriate • Highlight any learnings from Vietnam that can be transferred to the Iran-Afghan War. Note recommendations for “Where we go from here?” Evaluation – Webquest products Products should be in electronic format. Use software packages of your choice.

11. Investigations into history must be pursued with the same rigor and analysis as any complex scientific investigation. In both one starts with an opinion based on previous observation. Truth is uncovered by building on previous knowledge through the use of well-framed questions, diligent investigation of facts, and organized analysis and synthesis of information to refine and expand understanding. Conclusion

12. Benny R. Hawkins Jr. Steve Carole Neville – Physics Teacher at St. Charles East High School. C0-authors