[CatoRenasci]

Bump. Yes.

War is to important to be left to the politicians.

[leadpenny]

"Johnson made a quite firm decision not to let American troops outside the borders of (South) Vietnam, and in my view that was the wrong way to fight the war," Rostow said.

I won't comment on the rest of the article, right now, but as for the quote above, I'll just say that Johnson was a liar and Rostow is swearing to that lie. We were trying desperately to cut the trail with everything from mercenaries (including American SF advisors) to B-52's in 67 during my first tour in Pleiku. What we were doing way out west of Dak To in Southern Laos in November 67 is as clear today as it was then.

[donozark]

Operation Lam Son 719 in 1971 involving the use of US aerial assests and arty and S. VN grunts only points out how true this article is. The NVA fought like tigers. Why? The area around Tchepone, Laos was critical to their survival. Key supply lines. Staging areas, munitions dumps, etc. Huge tunnel complexes. It was in essence the "jugular vein" for the NVA positioned S. of that point.

The South Viets suffered staggering losses...

Article posted last week (bookmarked by me) states in addition to upwards of one million Viets lost in these DEATH CAMPS (or fleeing from same), approx. 3 million indigenous people have been murdered by the Communists. H'Muang,Meo,Montagnard,Christians,etc. The war continues, hardly "ended" as the war protestors and professorial pinheads maintain.

[Pylot]

Johnson was a coward, terrified of engaging the Chinese and preferring to implement his socialist policy instead.

Rather than rise to the occasion he shirked his duty and killed 50,000 Americans in the process.

The real eye opener is to contemplate what effect a Democratic Republic of Viet Nam, flourishing under capitalism, would have on the region today if we had followed through and not let the communists take over.

[lentulusgracchus]

Good article, Jewish World Review is a good online site.

They also have another good article posted about the high stresses on military personnel from fighting child soldiers in e.g. Sierra Leone, there are apparently some unusual psych factors there -- which, however, U.S. personnel experienced once before when fighting the Hitlerjugend in Germany in 1944-45. There was an SS Panzergrenadier division made up entirely of Hitler Youth that was completely fought out in Normandy by the Canadians and British, but Americans didn't encounter them in numbers until the Bulge.

[RLK]

JFK destroyed the south with his assassination of Diem. McNamara was essentially a high level subversive who undermined the war.

[onedoug]

I will always be proud and grateful for the opportunity to have served in Vietnam. And I will always remember why.