Saturday, October 12, 2013

Still lying about Vietnam

Great op-ed by Nick Turse in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/opinion/for-america-life-was-cheap-in-vietnam.html

Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap kicked our ass during the Vietnam War. But like the crybabies we have always been, we can't get over it.

We didn't learn shit in Vietnam. We shouldn't have been there, we shouldn't have been in Iraq, and we shouldn't be in Afghanistan.

And now were in Syria and Africa, where we don't belong either. If we had learned the truth about ourselves in Vietnam, none of this might have happened. But we're still lying to ourselves about ourselves... so the killing will go on, and on, and on.

But ... we're spreading democracy, so it's all good. Right?

As to the claims that General Giap's “victories had been rooted in a profligate disregard for the lives of his soldiers”, I can only say this: we squandered our monetary treasure, while Giap may or may not have squandered the lives of his troops. What should he have done ... surrender?

In war there is no substitute for victory.
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur

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