Posted on 01/31/2004 11:41:34 AM PST by William McKinley
THE VIETNAM WAR marked the first time in American history that we waged war not only against a foreign enemy, but against ourselves.
Truth was the first casualty of that internecine fight, which means that now, on the 25th anniversary of our departure from Vietnam, many younger Americans know little about the war other than the grim idiocies passed on by the professors and the press.
Let's refute some of those popular myths. [snip]
Most protesters got involved not because they had lofty feelings about war and peace. They joined in because they were bored, because disobedience was exciting, because the movement provided the next best thing to a dating service and because they wanted a high-minded way to dodge the draft.
In retrospect, the tactics were wonderfully stupid. The Moratorium, which Bill Clinton helped organize in England, was built on the premise that college students could put an end to global conflict merely by standing around in the street and chanting slogans. Instead of inspiring peace, the young scholars goaded communists into waging a broader war on human liberties. The Soviets and their proxy armies concluded that Americans lacked the spirit or will to fight back.
Even worse, anti-war organizations proved to be every bit as delusional as the Pentagon's bean-counters. The boat people proved beyond all reasonable doubt that the Vietcong were peddling death and misery -- and yet, left-wing commentators refused to acknowledge the fact. Many still do. Only communism could have turned the Vietnamese people into paupers. Here in America, Vietnamese immigrants have demonstrated their entrepreneurial and economic genius.
Although Ronald Reagan and subsequent presidents have lavished Vietnam vets with praise, we can never give them what they deserve, which is their youth.
We lost nearly 60,000 Americans in a war plagued by shabby planning on one side and a narcissistic anti-war movement on the other. Young people were instructed to fight, but not given the means to win. And when they stumbled home from the hell of jungle warfare, they had to endure taunts from a protest movement that viewed its cowardice as a form of nobility.
This sorry legacy does, however, permit us to formulate a pithy summary of the "lessons of Vietnam." First, if you enter a war, declare war and build popular support. Second, fight to win. Third, honor those who serve. And fourth, remember: A strong military is necessary not just to fight wars, but to prevent them. No sane outfit will mess with a superpower that not only has the means to fight, but the will to punish aggressors.
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...
LOL.....
(McKinley's daughter?)
Enjoy reading post# 18,........18 is a 'Great Post'....!!
And I still have no clue as to what you are talking about in any of your posts on this thread, nor do I have any clue what you are going off about "McKinely's daughter" about, nor do I have any idea why you were insulting a vet earlier on this thread.
Is it your intention to come across as an ass?
You are kind. But a truly great post is one that you print out and tape on the wall-- like I am doing with your post #20. ;-)
[see above]
.....I went to Vietnam when I was 18. I only wish I knew at the time why I was there. It would have given some meaning to it all. Exactly, of what 'value' is a 'Worldview'...?
(NEA public education)
Sorry,......lunch is served,.....see ya,....'later'.
Thanks for posting this thread!
(USA....'All-around-protection'.....forever!)
Who needs the old Sears Catalog!
I've tried to make this point to people for decades. All the men we lost were lost in a cause just as important as WWII. Communism made the Nazis look like amateurs when it came to slaughtering people. They saved us from decades of a new Dark Ages.
ROTFLOL.........
Prozik...............is the 'high' of the 21st Century?
LOL
Americas last great burst of altruism.
You and me and a bunch here know that but it's amazing how most people don't -- especially the dems and the press. Stalin killed so many more people than Hitler did, and when the last Stalinist- Gorby - called it quits, they gave HIM the friggin' Nobel prize. Maybe Carter is in good company, but if Nobel was alive today he'd be spinning in his grave.
Most of them came back no worse for weare and sit at the end of the bar at the VFW swapping lies along with the rest of the old guys as my Grandfathers generation did.
You know, I'm finding that to be partially untrue, in my opinion the liberal hart is too shriveled by all it's bleeding.
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