Between Vietnam and Ukraine: Reflections on Ending a War
There are major differences between Vietnam and Ukraine, but the ending of this war is again likely to involve the persuasion of a Ukrainian ally as much as the pressure of a Russian adversary.
Since then, other units have performed the same function of moving U.S. troops in and out of multiple later wars. Thoughts about how those and future U.S. wars can and should end can still draw some insights from the Vietnam experience. But memories fade, and nearly two-thirds of American alive today had not even been born in 1973.
Paul Pillar retired in 2005 from a twenty-eight-year career in the U.S. intelligence community, in which his last position was a National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia. Earlier he served in a variety of analytical and managerial positions, including as chief of analytic units at the CIA covering portions of the Near East, the Persian Gulf, and South Asia. Professor Pillar also served in the National Intelligence Council as one of the original members of its Analytic Group. He is also a Contributing Editor for this publication.
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