On the Ho Chi Minh trail, then and now
To continue with the theme of the last few days, this article that appeared in The American Prospect back in February is edifying in describing exactly how an increasingly antiwar Congress pressured Nixon back in the late 60s and early-to-mid-70s to end the Vietnam War, and what effect it had on our strategy and prosecution of that war.
It’s edifying in several ways, not the least of which is the tone of the author, who clearly approves of Congress’s actions then, and hopes that by describing them in detail now he can provide guidance to those who wish to act similarly today in pressuring Bush (or any possible hawkish successor) to withdraw from Iraq. The author considers Senators Church, Case, and Mansfield, et. al. to be heroes, Davids who stood up bravely against the Goliath Nixon (and the unbridled power of the Presidency) and felled him, even before the final self-delivered blow of Watergate.
I’m offering it mostly, though, as a summary of Congressional antiwar measures of the time, for those who are interested. I do not share the author’s assumptions that all these things were for the good, and his ignoring of the negative consequences of the antiwar movement’s actions, but I find his views representative of most liberal thought now. Certainly they were representative of majority public opinion in America at the time—including mine.
Contrast to this interview with Bui Tin, a former colonel on the general staff of North Vietnam’s army. He received the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975, but later defected to France after becoming disillusioned with the course Communism took after the takeover (ah, another changed mind).
Bui Tin describes the other side of the picture. From the start, the North Vietnamese read the American public well and were aware of what their strategy needed to be:
Question: How did Hanoi intend to defeat the Americans?
Answer: By fighting a long war which would break their will to help South Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh said, “We don’t need to win military victories, we only need to hit them until they give up and get out.”
And then there’s this:
Q: Was the American antiwar movement important to Hanoi’s victory?
A: It was essential to our strategy. Support of the war from our rear was completely secure while the American rear was vulnerable. Every day our leadership would listen to world news over the radio at 9 a.m. to follow the growth of the American antiwar movement.
Read the rest for an interesting take on how the enemy’s strategy followed its knowledge of the American psyche. Ho proved to have been correct then. The important question is whether his words still ring true.
Topics: Uncategorized
Posted by Neoneocon at 4:33 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2007
11 Responses to “On the Ho Chi Minh trail, then and now”
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August 28th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
It’s interesting, with all this talk of learning the lessons of history, how certain people want to airbrush the inconvenient parts out — like what happened after the fall of Saigon to our Vietnamese allies, the continuing repression in Vietnam to this day, John Kerry’s role, both then and now, in midwifing the Communist victory and negotiating a rapproachment with our government. The POW/MIA families will never forgive him for that - there’s a lot of hidden dirt there.
People also love to forget that we opposed the Communists in southeast Asia because they were supported by the Soviet Union, which also engaged in genocidal repression of its own people. Is it really surprising, then, that the governments Soviet Russia supported went on to engage in mass murder when they came to power after our Democratic Congress withdrew military and humanitarian aid from Vietnam and Cambodia?
This is the history that is about to repeat itself in Iraq and Afghanistan. If we withdraw our troops, how long will it be before the faithless Democrats also withdraw, as the Democratic Congress did in the 1970s, military aid to Iraq and Afghanistan too, and those countries once again fall to al Qaeda and the Taliban?
And then every American who gave his or her life will have died in vain.
What a f***ing waste. My Dad and father in law served in Vietnam, and now it’s about to happen all over again and we are about to let it.
It is that that I cannot forgive.
August 28th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Buck up Cassandra. The “Workers of the World Unite” crowd will be along here any minute to tell us we were the bad guys.
The Dems used to defend the country. Until 1968 when they decided the “real enemy” were the Republicans.
August 28th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Cassandra*
Yes WE (the Right thinkers) are letting it happen again. The collaborators (numerous) in this country are trying awfully hard to make sure it does indeed, happen again. Their sales approach, along with the propagandists (media) is definitely having its intended affect.
Vanguard of the Commentariat
Certainly not trying to be argumentative…
Until 1968 when they decided the “real enemy” were the Republicans.
I would say that the Dem’s “real enemy” was and is the United States of America.
*asterisk explained….where have I seen those legs before Moqtada?…:).
August 28th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
Case in point…THIS asshat
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8RAAAKG1&show_article=1&catnum=0
August 28th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Good point Cid. Correction acknowledged.
August 28th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Biden is such an oxygen thief.
Every time he opens his mouth I keep hearing him at the Roberts confirmation hearing with that pompous shtick of his:
“”Just talk to me as a father,”
I don’t know how Roberts answered him with a straight face. I would have lost it.
re: the legs — Sorry, left my burqa at home!
/scurrying away
August 28th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Cassandra isn’t Muktard!
They’re not even spelled the same. El Cid, love ya bro, but you really need to get some sleep or something if you can confuse Cass with ‘tard.
August 29th, 2007 at 2:13 am
So it is incombent upon those who are rational enough to understand the reality to explicitly define what we know and lay out a reasonable argument over and over. While the opposition spews its incoherence, keep sending your reasoned arguments to the editor, and especially, to your representatives. Rants are a dime a dozen, reason is almost a novelty, and very powerful tool against the hysteria loosed upon us today. Indeed, it is the only tool.
Take a good look at the enemy. Your own life, and the liberty to live it, are too precious to give up to the anti-human thugs filling the public square today without a fight. Go back and read the debates among our Founders before they declared their independence, and take heart.
August 29th, 2007 at 2:16 am
Take that my brother, Grimmy…what Salty said….:).
August 29th, 2007 at 2:18 am
Oh dear. Make that “incumbent.” And add spelling and decent grammar to the reason stuff.
August 29th, 2007 at 3:43 am
pfft. Talky talk is so yesterday.
I’m saving up my energy for when the fighting starts.