Friday, September 24, 2004
Lessons of Viet Nam
In a short article in the October 4 issue of THE NATION magazine, writer Jonathan Schell laments that we Americans have forgotten the lessons of Viet Nam. Because of our public amnesia, we are again involved in a war in which a “growing uprising against the American occupation of Iraq” is frustrating our goal of creating a stable democratic government in that country. I take issue with the writer’s explanation of the willingness of the American public to follow and approve the Administration’s foolish attempt to impose democracy by the sword in Iraq. I think we never learned the “lessons” of Viet Nam because there never was a consensus among our leaders as to what the lessons were.
One “lesson” was that we lost the war in Viet Nam because our political leaders refused to let the generals use all the weapons in our arsenal. Specifically, we avoided using an nuclear weapons against the enemy. We could have easily wiped out, or threatened to wipe out the city of Haiphong. A faction of Americans believe that the use, or threat of use of our nuclear weapons would have settled matters to our liking.
Another “lesson” was that we lost Viet Nam because of the liberals and lefties who demonstrated so vigorously and effectively against the war. They turned public opinion against the Administration’s policy. It was such persons as Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden, and other anti-war activists that cost us the victory. This is the lesson that our President has learned. He inveighs against those who assert that things are going very badly in Iraq and that a fundamental change in policy is needed. Such statements, he says, sends mixed messages to the people of Iraq and to our own fighting men and give encouragement to our enemies.
Another “lesson” was that we long ago forgot how to fight a guerilla war. We were very good at guerrilla tactics in the war of the American Revolution and fairly good in the war of 1812, but were committed to standard military tactics and strategies by the time of the Civil War. We were unable to defeat the guerrilla leader Pancho Villa in Mexico. We had great difficulty defeating Aguinaldo in the Philippines. We didn’t have a clue as to how to achieve a military victory in Viet Nam.
We fought in Viet Nam because we feared a Communist take-over of all of Asia. The domino theory predicted that if the Communists prevailed in Viet Nam, Thailand would be the next to succumb, followed by Malaya, Indonesia, and the rest. As we have seen from what happened after we left Viet Nam, the domino theory was incorrect. The Communists did indeed prevail in Viet Nam. The feared plague did not spread. The war had been unnecessary.
Which of these lessons is the one we should have learned from Viet Nam? There still isn’t a consensus. Until we learn from history, we are doomed to repeat past mistakes.
One “lesson” was that we lost the war in Viet Nam because our political leaders refused to let the generals use all the weapons in our arsenal. Specifically, we avoided using an nuclear weapons against the enemy. We could have easily wiped out, or threatened to wipe out the city of Haiphong. A faction of Americans believe that the use, or threat of use of our nuclear weapons would have settled matters to our liking.
Another “lesson” was that we lost Viet Nam because of the liberals and lefties who demonstrated so vigorously and effectively against the war. They turned public opinion against the Administration’s policy. It was such persons as Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden, and other anti-war activists that cost us the victory. This is the lesson that our President has learned. He inveighs against those who assert that things are going very badly in Iraq and that a fundamental change in policy is needed. Such statements, he says, sends mixed messages to the people of Iraq and to our own fighting men and give encouragement to our enemies.
Another “lesson” was that we long ago forgot how to fight a guerilla war. We were very good at guerrilla tactics in the war of the American Revolution and fairly good in the war of 1812, but were committed to standard military tactics and strategies by the time of the Civil War. We were unable to defeat the guerrilla leader Pancho Villa in Mexico. We had great difficulty defeating Aguinaldo in the Philippines. We didn’t have a clue as to how to achieve a military victory in Viet Nam.
We fought in Viet Nam because we feared a Communist take-over of all of Asia. The domino theory predicted that if the Communists prevailed in Viet Nam, Thailand would be the next to succumb, followed by Malaya, Indonesia, and the rest. As we have seen from what happened after we left Viet Nam, the domino theory was incorrect. The Communists did indeed prevail in Viet Nam. The feared plague did not spread. The war had been unnecessary.
Which of these lessons is the one we should have learned from Viet Nam? There still isn’t a consensus. Until we learn from history, we are doomed to repeat past mistakes.
