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Friday, November 17, 2006
Lessons from Vietnam
Reading Kos today I see a reference to this story about Bush's trip to several Asian nations.
In it is a quote which demonstrates again that Bush is, at best, a D minus history student. The president said there was much to be learned from the divisive Vietnam War - the longest conflict in U.S. history - as his administration contemplates new strategies for the increasingly difficult war in Iraq, now in its fourth year. But his critics see parallels with Vietnam - a determined insurgency and a death toll that has drained public support - that spell danger for dragging out U.S. involvement in Iraq. This is the lesson from Vietnam? And I guess the lesson from the Revolutionary war is that Americans don't like tea, and the lesson from the civil war is that people who wear blue and people who wear gray don't get along. Sometimes I just can't believe he has enough brain power to walk and breathe at the same time. |
5 Comments:
I saw that too. I also saw another doozy: '"We hear voices calling for us to retreat from the world and close our doors to these opportunities," the president said in a speech at the National University of Singapore. "These are the old temptations of isolationism and protectionism, and America must reject them."'
12:06 PM, November 17, 2006
The most effective lesson in conflicts with communism is that war isn't the only solution. In fact it's a pretty bad solution when one is challenged ideologically. Conflicting ideologies give perfect opportunities to convert through rational persuasion.
Our greatest success has been in areas where we did not engage communism head on in direct conflict but obliquely -- through economics, values and continuing covert action and media control to undermine their system of ideas.
Can this be a model for dealing with the bogeyman of resurgent Islamists? Yup, I think it can.
Right now what we're doing successfully is undermining our own ideals.
3:12 PM, November 17, 2006
Can this be a model for dealing with the bogeyman of resurgent Islamists? Yup, I think it can.
Yes, yes, YES, I have been saying this for years! It sounds hokey, but we need to love them to death, basically.
Which, ironically, would be the Christian thing to do, but the supposed Christians in charge of our country would rather go all Old Testament on the Middle East's ass.
But anyway, the ME may prove more resistant to our charms, but it will take time. The more moderate and growing middle classes of, say, Iran and Turkey would be far more receptive to our ideals. It's in our best interest to make sure they're not disenfranchised, and that we nurture their economies and make sure they are educated. Once we take away feelings of helplessness, dependence and poverty, the extremists start to lose their voice -- can't exactly point to the Great Satan keeping them down anymore.
4:43 PM, November 17, 2006
I fear most Americans are D minus history students. Hell, I'd bet money there are A plus history students who get the lessons of Vietnam wrong.
I'm with ted and minimalist. I'll add that embargoes don't work unless everybody that matters participates.
5:06 PM, November 17, 2006
Let me add one more thing about this. I said: Conflicting ideologies give perfect opportunities to convert through rational persuasion.
But that mainly applies in peacetime. In peacetime the dysfunction inherent in bullshit systems comes to the fore. During times of relative normalcy it is evident that normal people have rights, food, health, education, access for growth.
During war, everything is turned on it's head. The authorities have the ability to control every aspect of life, of communication, of reality and blames the enemy for dysfunction deflecting core issues indefinitely.
This is why we should stay away from war -- because normalcy is our friend that lifts all boats and allowed the East Germans and Poles to look east and west and decide which one to punt when the moment presented itself.
But what's good for us, ain't the same as what's good for the military-industrial complex trying to improve the quarterly revenue growth.
5:24 PM, November 17, 2006
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