Abstract
The Vietnam War, in which the US participated between 1964 and 1973, and the fights in Iraq that have begun in 2003 are two of the greatest conflicts that the American nation had to face in the last half-century. At first sight, they are worlds apart: their nature, the international and domestic political context, their size and scope, and even the region in which they take place are totally different. However, it is truly relevant to analyze the similarities between the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, since studying the former deeply can tremendously help to understand the fundamental issues raised by the latter. Hence, the purpose, the sequence of events and the conditions of withdrawal of both conflicts seem to have much in common. This has led many scholars to draw a strong parallel between the two wars, and to consequently forecast that the outcome and consequences of both conflicts will also be similar.
