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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group
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To: one_less who wrote (145785)9/16/2004 3:33:49 PM
From: cnyndwllr  Read Replies (1) of 281500
 
Re: I have noticed many men who went over board promoting Viet Nam. There attitude back then had something to do with loyalty to our legacy of winning wars. They became discouraged and apologetic in the seventies. Now the same guys are going over board to apologize for Iraq, out of some misplaced loyalty to their remembrances of Viet Nam... Throw backs to another era, who never seem to be able to grasp the issues of the moment until monday morning.

Jewell, you're a man of principle. Why not simply respond to the rationale of such critics rather than resort to labeling them as somehow emotionally unable to respond to the issues of the moment until monday morning?

The fact is that many who draw comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam were not for the war in Vietnam at the time and, if fact, may have had no opinion on that war. I think valid comparisons are made because there are some almost undeniable similarities which we have ignored to our great detriment.

For instance, we've ignored what we should have learned about the limits of attempting to use overwhelming military power to control a determined resistance that enjoys the support of at least a significant minority of the locals.

We've ignored the reality of the almost instinctive "hive" reaction from the people of one culture when the people of a distinctly different culture try to take contol.

We've ignored the institutional and human nature reactions of those in our employ who attempt to justify their mistakes with lies, deceptions and red herrings and by so doing compound the problems while delaying a change of course.

And we've ignored the very real enormity of the injury, deaths and damage that we cause as a natural consequence of our actions.

But there are differences. Here's one; the Vietnamese are a much more forgiving, much less vengeful culture. The Iraqis will remember and revenge themselves for generations.
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