[11th_VA]

Those were some interesting songs - never heard them before. Who knew - I believe ‘Green Beret’ was written as a response to ‘Eve of Destruction’ as well.

In general, and looking back, the whole Vietnam strategy was misguided. I was young when the song came out, but had college age brothers for whom the draft was real. And knew neighborhood kids that did not come back. One of my best friends brothers was wounded severally and featured in Life magazine.

To finish my rant, in a nut shell, our efforts to fight insurgency wars in Vietnam and Iraq, etc are flawed. You can’t win without a very supportive local population unless you plan on occupying like a Roman army. The doctrine for fighting insurgency wars were written by US officers that lead Philippine guerilla groups against the Japanese In the PI.

That strategy worked because the indigenous population and guerrillas supported each other.

Thats why, and I might get banned from FR for saying this, is the only thing Obama has done right is his fight against ISIS. Let US troops support as fire control and spotters, but those damn people need to fight the war.

[Fiji Hill]

You should read A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America's Last Years in Vietnam by Lewis Sorley (New York: Harcourt, 1999), which argues that our shift from "search and destroy" to "clear and hold" tactics during the final years of our involvement in Vietnam nearly won the war. A similar argument is found in Robert Thompson's No Exit from Vietnam (New York: McKay, 1969) and Peace is Not at Hand (New York: McKay, 1974).

[Fiji Hill]

Here's some more music:

• The Ballad of the Yellow Beret--The Beach Bums (1966)

• The Universal Coward--Jan Berry (1966)

• Wish You Were Here, Buddy--Pat Boone (1966)

• The Minutemeh Are Turning In Their Graves--Stonewall Jackson (1966)

• Take the Time--The Shangri-Las (1967)