“Anyone ever read “The Tunnels of Cu Chi”?”
Didn’t DIBS used to date a guy named Cu Chi? I’m sure he’s familiar with his tunnels.
Even if one was to believe the US Government’s aim in all of their involvement (to use a kind term) in other countries was to “spread democracy”, a concept I still can’t believe gains acceptance, one would still have to question how this can be accomplished when a true democracy doesn’t even exist at home where, for all intents and purposes, we have a two party system with two parties who are ideologically incredibly more similar than we would like to believe.
legion- I was going by your ratings list. I understand what the discussion was about- I am simply bringing my own voice to it.
You’re referring to the domino theory and we first went into Southeast Asia via Laos, backing up the French. We did not win Vietnam. We pulled out. Not because of activism back home, but because the government saw the folly of prolonging a war we were not winning. 60,000 casualities was enough. Far more than enough. The government came to its senses and saw we were losing far more than we were gaining. All the hippies and yippies did was bring it to the public’s attention.
And the returning Vets who were greeted on both sides with insensitivity and callousness. There is a reason the motto of the Vietnam Veterans of America is “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.” Don’t blame the hippies and yippies. Everyone abandoned these soldiers and they still suffer today.
My greatest fear is that Iraq and Afghanistan will be the ME version of Vietnam. In Iraq we didn’t even have a reason- or at least no discernable reason- to go to war.
Legion, agreed. We pretend we’re in another country to help the people, but it’s no secret to those at home or in Vietnam, Afganistan, or Iraq why we’re really there…
jessi,
no doubt, the lessons from vietnam include the very important and topical idea that you cannot win a conflict without the people behind you…
Afghanistan comes to mind.
When I was in seventh grade my friends and I traded Vietnam soldier memoirs like it was pornography. Some book by this Army Ranger, talking about daily life, I still recall scenes to this day. Anyone ever read “The Tunnels of Cu Chi”?
“it is well understood by military historians that the US did not lose a single battle in that conflict.
rather it was the perception at home, stoked by activists, that finally forced President Nixon to withdraw from that conflict.”
Legion, give a little more credit to the Vietnamese! While the US may have “won” every battle, once the dust cleared, the Vietnamese just repopulated the areas that they had “lost.” See – Hamburger Hill. They didn’t fight our way and by our rules, that’s why we lost.
Biff, I’ve been in the Cu Chi tunnels. Not for the claustrophobic.
And Biff impresses yet again. I am going to have to reassess my mental image of you as a big goofy guy with enormous shoes and orange hair, Biff! 🙂
Someday this war (discussion) is gonna end…
“Anyone ever read “The Tunnels of Cu Chi”?”
Didn’t DIBS used to date a guy named Cu Chi? I’m sure he’s familiar with his tunnels.
Even if one was to believe the US Government’s aim in all of their involvement (to use a kind term) in other countries was to “spread democracy”, a concept I still can’t believe gains acceptance, one would still have to question how this can be accomplished when a true democracy doesn’t even exist at home where, for all intents and purposes, we have a two party system with two parties who are ideologically incredibly more similar than we would like to believe.
legion- I was going by your ratings list. I understand what the discussion was about- I am simply bringing my own voice to it.
You’re referring to the domino theory and we first went into Southeast Asia via Laos, backing up the French. We did not win Vietnam. We pulled out. Not because of activism back home, but because the government saw the folly of prolonging a war we were not winning. 60,000 casualities was enough. Far more than enough. The government came to its senses and saw we were losing far more than we were gaining. All the hippies and yippies did was bring it to the public’s attention.
And the returning Vets who were greeted on both sides with insensitivity and callousness. There is a reason the motto of the Vietnam Veterans of America is “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.” Don’t blame the hippies and yippies. Everyone abandoned these soldiers and they still suffer today.
My greatest fear is that Iraq and Afghanistan will be the ME version of Vietnam. In Iraq we didn’t even have a reason- or at least no discernable reason- to go to war.
Legion, agreed. We pretend we’re in another country to help the people, but it’s no secret to those at home or in Vietnam, Afganistan, or Iraq why we’re really there…
jessi,
no doubt, the lessons from vietnam include the very important and topical idea that you cannot win a conflict without the people behind you…
Afghanistan comes to mind.
When I was in seventh grade my friends and I traded Vietnam soldier memoirs like it was pornography. Some book by this Army Ranger, talking about daily life, I still recall scenes to this day. Anyone ever read “The Tunnels of Cu Chi”?
“it is well understood by military historians that the US did not lose a single battle in that conflict.
rather it was the perception at home, stoked by activists, that finally forced President Nixon to withdraw from that conflict.”
Legion, give a little more credit to the Vietnamese! While the US may have “won” every battle, once the dust cleared, the Vietnamese just repopulated the areas that they had “lost.” See – Hamburger Hill. They didn’t fight our way and by our rules, that’s why we lost.
Like Chris Rock said: I’m not afraid of Al Queada. I’m afraid of AL CRACKER.
Posted by: East New York at March 9, 2010 11:43 AM
These two 9ish year old girls were asking me the other day who Ruby Bridges was. After I told them, one said, “Yeah, but what did she do?”
“I just told you what she did.”
“Yeah, but what is she famous for?”
“Famous for! It’s pretty brave to walk into school with a bunch of white crackers threatening you. That takes guts.”
They laughed.