Much of America, including yours truly, has been watching the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) series, ‘Vietnam.’ Instead of clarifying that confusing conflict, the series has ignited fiery controversy and a lot of long-repressed anger by soft-soaping Washington’s motives.
This march to folly in Vietnam is particularly painful for me since I enlisted in the US army at the height of the war. Gripped by youthful patriotism, I strongly supported the war. In fact, the TV series even showed a pro-war march down New York’s Fifth Avenue that I had joined. Talk about déjà vu.
At the time, 1967, the Cold War was at full force. We really believed that if the US did not make a stand in Vietnam the Soviets and Chinese would overrun all of South Asia.
No one in Washington seemed to know that China and the Soviet Union had split and become bitter enemies. As ever, our foreign human intelligence was lousy. We didn’t understand that Vietnam deserved independence after a century of French colonialism. Or that what happened in Vietnam was of little importance to the rest of the world.
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With all due respect and appreciation for the service of the author, I disagree with the statement:
ReplyDelete"Instead of clarifying that confusing conflict, the series has ignited fiery controversy and a lot of long-repressed anger by soft-soaping Washington’s motives".
I watched the entire documentary, and think that it makes it abundantly clear that Washington's motives were largely impure. The political leadership lied throughout the conflict, and the military leadership made one blunder after another.
I was too young to have served, but old enough to remember it on the nightly news. I can't imagine what it was like to have been there, but I can imagine this series stirring the visceral feelings of those like Mr. Margolis, who was there.
liberal Democrats don't like fighting Communists. To them it's like a brother against brother thing. PBS basically celebrated the loss of the Vietnam war.
ReplyDeleteEverything today is designed to resemble the chaos of the 60's... The Democrats have nothing else but their despicable history and they are trying to repeat it.
ReplyDelete10:23,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean "liberal democrats don't like fighting communists"?
Just look at the contortions they are going through to prove that Trump is Putin's bitch.