Wrong on Vietnam, wrong on Iraq - Reader comments at The New York Sun

Reader comment on:
Optimism and War

Submitted by Scott Baker, Sep 18, 2007 12:21

It's interesting that Mr. Moyar wrote a book focusing on the Vietnam war from 1954-1965 - perhaps he chooses to ignore the slow decline after those years? In any case, America has never been able to impose a democracy on a people who didn't want it and who saw America as an occupying force. There are too many dissimilarities and similarities between Vietnam and Iraq to list them all here, but certainly the U.S. role as occupier in both wars is a strong parallel. The poles show that's how the Iraqis view us in Iraq; history shows us that's how the Vietnamese viewed us in Vietnam. If we would just get out of the way, the small contingent of Al-Qaeda in Iraq would be swarmed by both Shiites and disenchanted Sunnis. The irony is, if we hadn't decimated the Iraqi middle class and disbanded the army - turning hundreds of thousands of soldiers into "insurgents", it would have probably happened already.

The long view of history shows we were right to disengage from Vietnam; today they are a trading partner and embrace a model of communist-capitalism on par with China's. This is certainly not perfect, but consider basket-case countries like Zimbabwe, arguably more "democratic" than Vietnam, and it's easy to see how it could be a lot worse.

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
There's a very simple solution: have a brief trial of the traitors in Congress and then have them executed (shot?)... [MORE]	Russ Davis	Sep 18, 2007 23:31
Yes, as anyone who's bothered to study the matter and not just swallow left wing talking points knows, Tet 68... [MORE]	Bill Faith	Sep 18, 2007 21:58
An excellent article. Bravo to Mr Moyar for clarity, precision and accuracy. As regards the :military sage" comment, I believe... [MORE]	Thomas Abella	Sep 18, 2007 16:50
Name-calling respondents to this article, such as the one who used the phrase, "Right Wing revisionists," clearly never have, do... [MORE]	John Spencer Yantiss	Sep 18, 2007 13:47
Thank you for Mr. Moyar's petite revision of the history of the Vietnamese War. Such revision will have to continue,... [MORE]	Don Carlson	Sep 18, 2007 12:27
It's interesting that Mr. Moyar wrote a book focusing on the Vietnam war from 1954-1965 - perhaps he chooses to...	Scott Baker	Sep 18, 2007 12:21
Hundreds of thousands of near-toothless skulls grin at you at the Vietnam War Memorial in Hanoi and they all seem... [MORE]	HarryKKLee	Sep 19, 2007 06:58
"...For reasons of morale, wartime military leaders the world over emphasize the positive even on the darkest days. ..." Seems to... [MORE]	Darth AirBorne	Sep 18, 2007 09:43
Tet occurred in January of 1968. American fatalities (by year) were: 1967 11,000 1968 16,000 1969 11,000 Pretty good for an enemy that had... [MORE]	gregdn	Sep 18, 2007 09:33
The Viet Cong, the southern contingent in the war, was virtually destroyed during Tet. Thereafter the north was forced to... [MORE]	John Schuh	Sep 18, 2007 16:08
Sure, we lost alot of men, but you conveniently ignore the obverse. What the NVA and VC lost during those... [MORE]	bru	Sep 18, 2007 16:13
from Wikipedia: The attacks were the largest military operations conducted by either side up to that time in the war. The... [MORE]	Petras Vilson	Sep 18, 2007 20:14
I think that any cogent military hitorian will agree that Japan had been dealt a "crippling blow" in the Battle... [MORE]	oldbuzzard	Sep 18, 2007 20:32