Vietnam legacy has lessons for anti-Americanism today

THIS month marks the 50th anniversary of a pivotal moment in the escalation of the Vietnam War: the launch of the Operation 'Rolling Thunder' bombing campaign, and also the commitment of the first US ground troops. Fresh from his landslide re-election in November 1964, President Lyndon Johnson ramped up US military involvement in the South-east Asian country in what was to prove one of the worst ever US foreign policy debacles.

One key legacy of Vietnam was growth of anti-Americanism across much of the world, undercutting US prestige and soft power. Far from being a historical artefact, this legacy is of importance for US policy today as the country continues to recover from the international unpopularity of the Iraq War and wider perceptions of excessive US power, unilateralism and over-reliance on military might.

More than a decade on from the Iraq invasion, it is clear that the controversial intervention helped fuel a sea change in international opinion toward the United States which is the most significant since Vietnam. Favourability towards the United States, which had spiked upwards in many countries after 9/11, went into freefall, and has only partially recovered.