Viet Nam and Nicaragua are better described as proxy wars ... principle was [is?] that asian and latino life was/is cheap, they can't meet aggression with military force of any consideration, so what the hell let's play with our war toys in their villages and keep our suburbs all neat and proper
The viet minh had supported the allies in defeating the japanese empire, through self-interest of course, the japanese being but the most recent to attempt their enslavement .... during the war there had been considerable verbal promise to them that their assistance, for which they paid a heavy price in life and limb, would be subsequently rewarded with admittance to the family of nations, with all rights and privileges appropriate to the status of distinct and independent people that they were in their hearts for centuries if not millennia .... 1946, it becomes apparent to them that post-war divvying-up is not heading in this direction, and Ho Chi Minh fires off a letter to Truman pointing out the logic in the US refraining from assisting the french in a re-colonisation of his people, he quotes several lines from the US declaration of independence, it is a well-writ coherent brief and persuasive argument he makes, judge for yourself, it's viewable as a .gif file online at your library of congress
Truman shrugged, and let the gaullistes have their way .... just as following the 11/11/18 armistice Wilson, Lloyd George, and Borden had let Clemenceau extract tribute from the germans, Truman handed over the vietnamese to de Gaulle .... what the hell, buncha gooks, they make any trouble we can always napalm em, you can just see the yellow pine lobby equivalent du jour whispering in his ear eh
1950, Acheson makes a speech redefining the question as one of ideology, and of course, an ideology most convenient to him and his buddies ..... some aussie has this online in todo and verbatim, i forget the search terms ... sets the tone anyway, all of a sudden a people who fought and died beside allied troops became enemies, 'them' not 'us' .... comes Dien Bien Phu, geez must be energetic little buggers, they beat the french .... 1954, Geneva Accords, it is solemnly agreed by all parties that there shall be free elections in 1956, for the vietnamese to decide their own future .... comes 1956, Eisenhauer says no way, buncha gooks, what them vote, not on your life, they make any trouble for our pet dictator we can always napalm em
To its everlasting credit, this g.w.n. voted along with Poland and India [the three being the 'tri-lateral commission' set up to oversee the Geneva accords], to condemn this action and support free and fair elections
To its everlasting dishonour, this g.w.n. did so sotto voce ... wouldn't do to upset oligarchs in control of the world you see, best just to shrug and hand them your reins, what the hell give them carte blanche because hey, they the boss ... sieg heil Herr Gruppenführer Ragosta
Manley you stupid prick, get off your knees .... we are too g.d. polite, we were always too g.d. polite ... escúchate un héroe verdadero - Es mejor morir de pie que vivir una vida de rodillas
Quick quiz - [not for you T, you'll have an idea of the answer] - how many died in the Viet Nam war '46-'75?
... it's a trick question
... and it precedes another - What is the value of an asian life?
.. which precedes - What is the value of an hispano? |
