Opinion: Coronavirus and America’s Vietnam Syndrome

Opinion: Coronavirus and America’s Vietnam Syndrome

Long Bui, UCI assistant professor in the Global & International Studies Department writes, “Under America’s recurring “Vietnam Syndrome,” the country keeps comparing every protracted divisive war to its past involvement in Southeast Asia. The U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have even dubbed by commentators as “another Vietnam.” The war against coronavirus is no exception. … As more dead bodies piled up, media outlets and social media users turned to the numbers of deceased in Vietnam to explain our losing battle with COVID-19.