Vietnam Conflict

To the first Nguyen: Your view is interesting from the South Vietnamese perspective, if in fact, you were present and old enough to understand. The US government could have done more, but simply throwing money into a problem which we could not even fully understand or appreciate was finally considered fruitless. In a way, you are right: If military leaders would have been given the authority to carry out tasks in a military manner instead of having politicians in Washington meddling into the battlefield management, we might have prolonged the agony for a few more decades. The fact is, we had little business in that country's affairs. In fact, Ho Chi Minh had already asked the United States for help in forming a free Vietnam. The U.S. chose to side with the French, our supposed ally in WWII (We Americans are so forgetful, we had to actually FIGHT the French in WWII !!) Ho only turned to the Soviets after being turned away by the US, via Eisenhower. As for the "Chinese weapons" comment, thank God they were Chinese. We probably would have lost more soldiers with Russian-manufactored weapons.

The Vietnam conflict is such a convoluted topic, it cannot be answered in one sentence, paragraph, or book. There are so many perspectives. For example, the fact that I am in the US Air Force and a Vietnamese linguist gives me a far different point of view than a ground soldier. And the two together might equally think that the military won the war, while the politicians lost it. I am aware that others think differently - a uniquely human trait.

One must also consider facts: The stockpiles of weapons left by Americans for South Vietnamese militiry use was totally ignored by the fleeing South soldiers, who beat women and children to get to the front of the line for ships and planes out of the potential battle zones. I say potential because there might have actually been battles, had the South Vietnamese held their ground and fought, instead of gathering their ill-gotten gold and treasures and running. Of course, now those folks own 7-11's in the US. The vast majority of people who fled only followed their spineless leaders. ie; Nguyen Cao Ky, hordes of military generals, etc. (cut off the snake's head, the body dies)

So, you see, opinions vary depending where you stand. I lost friends and profesional comrades, so my opinion is skewed toward those mental images. I am sure yours leans toward your life's experiences. If you weren't there or involved personally, you really have no perspective, other than what you hear or read.