@article{article_641191, title={Conservative Actions: A Comparison on the Invasions of Vietnam and Afghanistan}, journal={The Turkish Yearbook of International Relations}, pages={51–73}, year={1980}, DOI={10.1501/Intrel_0000000234}, author={Howard, Lawrence A.}, keywords={Conservative Actions, A Comparison, the Invasions}, abstract={<p>Westerners-when they give attentian to the bitter <br />struggle raging in Afghanistan-commonly characterize it <br />as "Russia’s Vietnam."ı The characterization carries with <br />it same misleading intellectual baggage, stuff damaged in <br />transit during America’s defeat in Vietnam: the thesis that <br />the use of military force in the Third World by a superpower inevitably runs counter to its own interests. Currently <br />the apparent stalemate between Soviet forces and the mujahedeen offers the most convincing proof for this thesis; <br />however, soothsayers run high risks of error by basing <br />their predictions of Soviet failure on American defeat,2 <br />The key to understanding the fallacy of thinking that <br />Afghanistan is Russia’s Vietnam lies in understanding the <br />traditional political cultures of Vietnam and Afghanistan. <br />The parallels and contrasts that exist between the two invasions both strongly suggest that military force can be <br />successfully used in conjunction with a correct understanding of the local political culture. T <br /> </p>}, number={20}, publisher={Ankara Üniversitesi}