Protestantism

» Brian Tubbs - Good Money After Bad

I've looked at Vietnam as a historian, not as one who lived through it. So, there are aspects of the Vietnam war and of that time that I won't be able to understand to the same level as you. Nevertheless, I think I can say, based on my studies, that I have a decent handle on the Big Picture of it.

As an anecdote, back when I was a teacher, I invited a Vietnam veteran to come talk to my US history class. It was a 90-minute session. I took the first 45 minutes and spoke on the Big Picture and then turned it over to him - to talk about what life was like at that time, from his perspective (in particular) as a soldier in the war.

He later complimented me (very profusely and sincerely), saying that I captured the essence of the period very well. Now, I don't know his politics (whether he's Republican or Democrat), but I appreciated his compliment.

I think the United States blundered into Vietnam, but it had the right heart in doing so.

The "Big Picture" at that time was that the communists were gaining in the world - and this was bad for the world (in terms of democracy, freedom, human rights, and - yes - economic opportunity) and bad for US interests (and some of those 'interests' were legitimate security concerns). Since World War II, the communists had taken Eastern Europe, North Korea, Cuba, China, and had made significant inroads in other parts of the world - including Latin America, Indonesia, Africa, and other parts of Asia. The US was committed to the Truman Doctrine of "containment," and thus wanted to STOP the communist takeover of Southeast Asia.

From the "Big Picture" standpoint, this was a valid and correct concern.

However, as was the case in 2002 Iraq, the US had a poor understanding of the grassroots situation in Vietnam. We didn't fully understand or appreciate the self-determinism that was flowing through the Vietnamese people, and we were so focused on the Cold War that we didn't see and appreciate the CIVIL WAR we got embroiled in there in Vietnam.

There are a lot of similarities. We didn't think it through, and we paid the price. And, to make matters worse, the US government tried to "manage" the escalation in Vietnam in such a way that they concocted false pretenses for our being there and misled the American people. And when it came to the Good Reasons for being there, they were poorly articulated - if at all. They therefore lost the trust and confidence of the people - and, well, the rest is history.

I see A LOT of similarity with Iraq right now. We invaded and took out Saddam, I think, for the right reasons. It was NOT (contrary to what you, Migisi, and Wendell say) about "killing people" or about making the oil companies rich or giving Bush more power. It was frankly about (first and foremost) replacing a dangerous and unpredictable dictator who had the potential and desire to threaten US security and destabilize the entire Middle East region.

But...our intel was flawed. Our knowledge and appreciation of the situation - of the MidEast, Arabic culture in particular - was poor. And we didn't think through the Big Game Plan.

And as for articulating the reasons for the war, they were out there - for people to see - IF they read all of Bush's speeches word-for-word. But, in our sound byte culture, all people got was what Bush emphasized - WMD. And, well, we didn't find any WMD. So, that undermines the trust and confidence in the government.

A lot of similarities. Once again, shows the importance of history. If we don't learn our lessons, we're doomed to repeat them.