To the present-day Vietnamese it’s a happy anniversary, according to NPR: Large, cheerful crowds of flag-waving people had been gathering in central Ho Chi Minh City since early Wednesday morning, many of them having camped here overnight. The city became … Continue reading →
Two different countries, two different wars, two different times. And yet I keep thinking of comparisons and even parallels. Here are some of my thoughts. (1) The US parties have switched sides since Vietnam days. At the end of the … Continue reading →
I won’t be watching. Speeches – particularly from the left, but speeches in general – are not my cup of tea. I’m not a glutton for punishment, although I usually watch some excerpts. But there’s plenty of coverage all over … Continue reading →
William Calley has died at eighty. For those of us old enough to have been sentient during the Vietnam War, Calley’s name is instantly recognizable as one of the major players in the horrific and shameful My Lai massacre. He … Continue reading →
Commenter “Art Deco” observes: I don’t think Hamas ever had what you’d call a ‘strategy’, unless there were co-ordinate campaigns planned which Iran and Hezbollah never implemented. It’s what Martin Peretz described 40 years ago in a review of a … Continue reading →
What can you say about Henry Kissinger? A ton. I won’t attempt to do that. Most readers here probably know quite a bit about the policies he advocated and implemented: detente, Realpolitik, rapprochement with China. He was a titanic figure … Continue reading →
This is unconscionable behavior: On October 7, Hamas terrorists were not the only ones who documented the war crimes they had committed during their deadly rampage across southern Israel. Some of their atrocities were captured by Gaza-based photojournalists working for … Continue reading →
I’ve noticed quite a few recent references to the Gulf of Tonkin incident that occurred during the Vietnam era. The Gulf of Tonkin is treated as though we all know the story: the government lied to get us into a … Continue reading →
To a certain extent, when the Vietnam-era draft ended people lost interest in news of Vietnam. There was a flurry of renewed attention when we finally left and then cut off most of the military aid years later, including the … Continue reading →
Success has many fathers but defeat is an orphan. Thus it is with our withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan after twenty years. Even Joe Biden, who said in a speech that he stands by his decision, spent most of the … Continue reading →
I went to bed last night feeling very agitated and having my own small version of Vietnam PTSD. I can only imagine what it’s like for so many of those who served there, or in Afghanistan, or in Iraq, or … Continue reading →
I had originally thought Nathan Phillips had been cagey enough to merely use phrases that gave the impression he was a Vietnam vet who actually, you know, went to Vietnam. In other words, phrases such as “Vietnam times vet.” But … Continue reading →