William Mandel wrote:
> Joe: Please explain something to me. Anyone who went to fight in
> Vietnam went to a country incapable of hurting the United States:
> no air force, no fleet. The simplest kid with any kind of
> morality whatever -- religious, you name it -- was capable of
> understanding that. So he was an invader, a killer of people who
> couldn't do anything to his country. Why should I memorialize
> such people?
> In all sincerity,
> Bill Mandel
While I can respect the sentiment, and in fact it may be such an overriding logical
concern that there isn't any need to discuss the details further--I think it's an
oversimplification.
Obviously we came into Vietnam as the last of a long line of invaders and
exploiters. The Chinese give way to the Japanese give way to the French. So here's
DienBienPhu, and there's suddenly a vaccuum of power as the French bandage up and
get out. A vibrant, charismatic Communist asserts control--pitching repeatedly for
OUR help, at the beginning--and so here stands our realpolitik decision. We're in
the first heat of the cold war, and we're presented with a cause that has three
seemingly reachable goals: staunch Communism, theoretically from China (although
this was a ludicrous mistake); show support (again) for a defeated ally and thus
secure the non-Communist coalition we desperately need to build in Europe; and
hopefully make some good money off a country with a pearl of a capital city (once
we got it back from Ho, of course).
It was a dumb decision, but when you're the ones making the decisions, it comes
down to a lot more than "can they hurt us."
-- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Mark Bunster **It's a different kind of feeling Survey Research Lab**you might not have felt at all VA. Commonwealth U **makes me jump and touch the ceiling Richmond, VA 23284 **if I fall well then I fall. mbunster@vcu.edu ** rbunster@earthlink.net** --Chisel http://www.imagineradio.com/mymusiclisten.asp?name=mbunster
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