Page 4
WORLD
Dec. 8, 2006
Greensboro. N.C.
Commentary: is Iraq the new Vietnam?
By Grayson Lyles | staff writer
"As the fourth anniversary of
the Iraqi conflict nears, the chorus
calling the Iraqi conflict the next
Vietnam is increasing. When peo
ple mentioned the two in the same
sentence no more than a year ago,
the military scoffed and remained
defensive on the subject.
"One of the sharp parallels
is that neither Vietnam nor Iraq
was the slightest threat to Amer
ica's national security," said Sen.
George McGovern to Democra-
cyNow. They're small countries
with a fraction of the population
the United States has, a fraction of
the economic and industrial power
and fraction of the military power.
If we had not intervened in Viet
nam we'd have pretty much what
we have now, which is a govern
ment that is friendly to us."
As George W. Bush's recent
visit to Vietnam proves, the nation
holds no ill will towards its former
enemy as it tries to solidify trade
rights with the United States.
There are many things that
make the current environment
look like the 1960s and 1970s all
over again. Of course, the most
glaring is the way the administra
tions work in Vietnam and Iraq.
"I find the basic parallels be
tween the two wars to be the hu
bris of those mismanaging the
conflicts and the misguided no
tion that the United States can use
its overwhelming military might
to solve international problems,'
I
%
Julian Kennedy/Guilfordian
Though styles have changed, since the 1960s,
THE MESSAGE OF PROTESTERS REMAINS THE SAME.
said Director of Friends Center
and Campus Ministry Coordina
tor Max Carter.
Indeed, the waters of politics
had gotten so murky by the 1970s
that former presidents L)mdon
Johnson and Richard Nixon made average American's perception of
all military decisions for the gen- Islam is ill-informed and wrong,
erals in an attempt to maintain po- Islam is a religion placing unity.
litical sway. It has been
suggested that Donald
Rumsfeld has been re
sponsible for a great
deal of the orders given
to generals, including
the Abu Ghraib prison
incident, when prison
guards abused and tor
tured prisoners of war.
Another similarity is
the rapidly falling state
of morale. In Vietnam,
drug use and a lack of
a front caused troops
to become restless and
violent. In Iraq, con
stant reports of mas
sacres and abuse have
popped up, much like
in Vietnam.
"In Vietnam we also
displayed the same xe
nophobia and cultural
myopia that are on
embarrassing display
regarding Iraq," said
Carter.
American culture is
still biased towards dif
ferent peoples. Many
in America still refer to
those of Middle East
ern descent with racial
slurs or as terrorists. During Viet
nam, slang words such as "gook"
and "Charlie" were used to de
mean the Vietnamese.
Because of the Iraq conflict, the
peace, and understanding above
all else.
Although America was trying
to fend off Communism, the Viet
namese were fighting a revolution
in an attempt to unify the country
during our war with them.
While America is fighting a
"war on terror," yet another fight
on an ideal like Communism in
Vietnam, Iraq is fighting a civil war
as the Sunnis and Shiites fight each
other for political and religious
dominance.
During both the Vietnam and
Iraq conflicts, America never offi
cial declared war.
Of course, there are also many
differences between the two con-
Vietnam. There also isn't a draft in
Iraq."
The last thing to be decided
between comparisons of Iraq and
Vietnam is the exit. The Vietnam
evacuation was nothing short of
chaos. It is up to this current ad
ministration whether or not the
exit of American troops will be a
peaceful transition to Iraqi rule or
bring about yet another change in
government for the weakened na
tion.
Ken Gilmore, chair of the po
litical science department, has his
own predictions concerning Amer
ican withdrawal.
"We will see a reduction of
United States troops in Iraq from
roughly 150,000
at present down
to 75,000 or
less by the next
American elec
tions," he said.
"The real ques
tion is what will
happen to the
level of violence
in Baghdad
over the next
two years as
we draw down
those numbers.
At the very least,
we can hope
The United States is not battling that, by then, the Iraqi army will
an organized army and national be trained and equipped to pro
movement in Iraq as we were in tect the government and people
Vietnam. The war against Iraq is of Baghdad. Then we limp home,
not generating a coimter-cultural A rather sad definition of 'victory,'
movement as did the w against don't you thmk?"
flicts.
"In
most
other
ways.
there are more
differences
than
simi-
larities,"
said
Carter.
"We
lost far
more
military
per-
sonnel in Viet-
nam.
along
with a
stag-
gering
num-
ber of civilian
and Vietnam-
ese
lives.
“In Vietnam we also
displayed the same xe
nophobia and cultural
myopia that are on
embarrassing display
regarding Iraq.”
Max Carter
Director of Friends Center &
Campus Ministry Coordinator
New beauty trend in Africa causes serious health problems
. . . • _1 • i // uyiiijLii iT' ' t « - —7
By Ashley Hardiman | Staff Writer
Many women in Africa are using
bleaching cream to lighten their skin
because they associate lighter skin with
beauty.
Peter Deng, a sophomore from Sudan,
remembers when bleaching cream first
started getting popular.
"A lot of my friends tried using the
cream," said Deng. "It made their faces
and necks look pale,
but the rest of their
body was their natu
ral skin color. They
thought it made
them look beauti
ful."
Skin bleaching,
while it is very pop
ular, contains toxic
chemicals that are
linked to weakened
immune systems, or
gan failure, and even
death.
Yaba A. Blay, a
doctoral candidate
in Temple University's African American
studies department, conducted a study
last summer, in which she surveyed ap
proximately 600 residents of Accra, and
interviewed another 40 who reported
bleaching their skin.
'Despite attempts by the Ghanaian
government to ban bleaching products
and the extreme health risks, includ
ing skin cancer, brain and kidney dam
age and sometimes death, the practice of
skin bleaching is seemingly on the rise,"
Blay, a native of Ghana, said to Diverse
magazine. "It appears that in the context
of global white supremacy, skin bleaching
represents an attempt to gain access to the
social status and mobility often reserved
not only for whites.
“I feel that skin bleach
ing is saying that there
is something wrong with
black skin...but it shows
how much influence the
Western world holds.”
Eleanor Branch
Assistant Professor of English and
African-American Studies
but for lighter
skinned persons of
African descent."
Eleanor Branch,
assistant professor
of English and Afri
can American stud
ies, remembers see
ing light-skinned
individuals on the
majority of ads in
Ghana, where most
people are very
dark-skinned.
"I feel that skin
bleaching is say
ing that there is something wrong with
black skin," said Branch, "but it shows
how much influence the Western world
holds."
Deng remembers his mother warning
his sisters not to use the bleaching cream.
'Luckily my sisters never tried it,'
said Deng, "but one of my cousins did.
I remember it was a really big deal. The
people in my family were very angry and
upset about it."
The trend of skin bleaching in Africa
may seem very similar to the trend of tan
ning in the United States. Young women
here are tanning their skin because they
think tanned skin is more beautiful.
"I go tanning because I like looking
tan," said sophomore Taylor Brown. "I
feel like I don't look as good when I'm
not tan. Some people look better tanned,
some don't. It depends on the person.
As with skin bleaching, there are many
risks involved with tanning.
Evidence links UVA, the type of rays
emitted from indoor tanning, exposure
to malignant melanoma, the most deadly
form of skin cancer.
Overexposure to any UV rays can
cause loss of skin elasticity, premature
aging, and cancer, but these are harm
ful effects of tanning booths that do not
show up for several years after the dam
age to the skin is irreversible.
Despite all the risks, women continue
to try to make themselves more beautiful
by skin bleaching in Africa and tanning
in the United States.
In addition to the risks involved, Deng
believes skin bleaching is disrespectful.
"I am proud of my heritage and where
nationalgeographic.com
This African woman is using skin-bleaching
CREAM TO LIGHTEN HER SKIN TONE, DESPITE THE
known risks.
I came from," said Deng. It makes me
angry to think that so many people would
want to hide that.'