"The Aftermath of Saigon's Fall Is Rarely Dealt With At All" (you'll never guess the author!)

The Wall Street Journal (originally) ^ | 4/28/2000 | Secret!

[Western Civ 4ever]

This Congress was elected in November 1974, only months after Nixon's resignation, and it was dominated by a fresh group of antiwar Democrats. One of the first actions of the new Congress was to vote down a supplemental appropriation for the beleaguered South Vietnamese that would have provided $800 million in military aid, including much-needed ammunition, spare parts and medical supplies.

This vote was a horrendous blow, in both emotional and practical terms, to the country that had trusted American judgment for more than a decade of intense conflict. It was also a clear indication that Washington was abandoning the South Vietnamese even as the North Vietnamese continued to enjoy the support of the Soviet Union, China and other Eastern bloc nations. The vote's impact was hardly lost on North Vietnamese military planners, who began the final offensive only five weeks later, as the South Vietnamese were attempting to adjust their military defenses.

Finally, the aftermath of Saigon's fall is rarely dealt with at all. A gruesome holocaust took place in Cambodia, the likes of which had not been seen since World War II. Two million Vietnamese fled their country — usually by boat — with untold thousands losing their lives in the process. This was the first such diaspora in Vietnam's long and frequently tragic history. Inside Vietnam a million of the South's best young leaders were sent to re-education camps; more than 50,000 perished while imprisoned, and others remained captives for as long as 18 years. An apartheid system was put into place that punished those who had been loyal to the United States, as well as their families, in matters of education, employment and housing. The Soviet Union made Vietnam a client state until its own demise, pumping billions of dollars into the country and keeping ...

[Western Civ 4ever]

You don't say, Senator?

I've said it before: turncoat soldiers are the lowest form of life the earth has ever produced.

[MNJohnnie]

HAAAAAAA! That is just too funny!

[MichaelP]

One of the most painful memories I have is the rank retreat from Saigon. With loyal Vietnamese begging for spoats on the last choppers out. I will carry those images to my grave. After Reagan resurrected our pride in the military, I never thought it could happen again....

It could, and I might!

Mike

[Intolerant in NJ]

James Webb? - thought it might have been Mort Kondracke, who said a while back that he “stopped being a liberal” (questionnable) the day he saw the Senate vote down funds for our allies in South Vietnam and abandon them to the north.......

[Wil H]

But, but, John Kerry just last month told us there was no bloodbath after Vietnam and the inmates of the Re-education camps did really well from the experience...

[Intolerant in NJ]

But, but, John Kerry just last month told us there was no bloodbath after Vietnam and the inmates of the Re-education camps did really well from the experience...Kerry and the rest of his anti-war ilk will never ever be able to admit to the tragedy they helped bring on southeast Asia - their exulted sense of their own moral and intellectual superiority is too closely tied to the belief that they were correct and effective in "ending the war" - their whole identity would vanish in one big poof if it ever crept into their understanding that they were totally wrong........