The purpose of this paper is to compare the counterinsurgency operations in Iraqi to the Vietnam conflict. I will identify the root causes of success or failure in each conflict and demonstrate three critical factors that contributed to the success or failure on the battlefield. We have witnessed on many occasions, conflicts in which history seemed to have repeated itself. If we do not take time to learn from our successes as well as our mistakes, we will continue to suffer many losses on the battlefield. By reviewing tactics and techniques implemented in prior conflicts, we will save lives and billions of dollars. Planners must integrate lessons learned during the Vietnam conflict into initiatives to combat terrorism in Iraq. Although the United States Military has proven repeatedly that it can learn and adapt to any situation that our country may face. Due to lack of cultural awareness, the Army entered many conflicts with expectations that were not realistic. We can implement many valuable lessons from mistakes made in Vietnam into the Iraq conflict to save lives and billions of dollars. In many cases, we assumed that foreign countries have the same ideology that most Americans do. Through proper training and by applying the strategy used from prior conflicts, we will be able to better prepare our Soldiers to confront and defeat the enemy on the battlefield in direct combat operations.

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