60's Flashback, A Real Bummer
Hartley Pleshaw

The Vietnam War divided this country as few things (outside of our own literal Civil War, one hundred years earlier) ever had before, and, we so fervently hoped, ever would again. But, out of the division came a call for a new sense of unity, born out of a bitter wisdom. Hawks and doves, liberals and conservatives, those of varied political persuasions all emerged from the Vietnam Era agreeing on the following salient points:  

*That, never again, would we enter a foreign war under false or questionable circumstances, such as the fraudulent “Gulf of Tonkin Incident” concocted by Lyndon Johnson;  

*That, never again, would we con or trick ourselves into believing that the masses of people in any given foreign country were supporting us in a war when, in fact, they were not;  

*That, never again, would we militarily interfere with the internal affairs of a foreign country, and force our soldiers into a literal crossfire between warring tribal, religious or political factions;  

*That, never again, would we force our soldiers into an ambiguous battlefront situation, with  confusion as to who, what and where the enemy is, unclear ultimate military objectives and dangerous and illogical restraints.  

It all came down to this: never again would another brave-but-scared 18, 19 or 20-year-old G.I. be forced into a situation where he would have to make a split-second decision as to whether or not the child running toward him or his buddies was carrying a ball or a doll—or a bomb.
 
War is Hell. We all know that. But some tours of duty in Hell are worse than others. World War II was plenty savage and brutal, but at least the American soldiers who fought their way through France, Italy and the Philippines didn’t have to worry about whether or not the native civilian population was on their side. (Yes, there were collaborationists and fifth columnists, but the French Resistance and the Italian Partisans saw to it that the G.I.’s didn’t have to worry too much about them.)  

Of course, that was back in the days when America didn’t go to war unless it was attacked first, and we knew, without having to be told or propagandized, that the people in the (occupied) countries we were invading really wanted us there. How quaint and long ago does that seem.  

No, the Americans who fought in that war didn’t have to worry about “winning the hearts and minds” of the occupants of Dachau and Buchenwald, the participants in the Bataan Death March or the rape victims of Nanking. They didn’t have to worry about bombing or invading Frankfurt or Yokohama for fear that they might be “holy cities.” When fired upon, they were allowed to fire back, with no fear of “enraging the civilian population.”  

Yes, mistakes were made, stupidities were acted out and occasional atrocities were committed. (The bombing of Dresden would seem to qualify on all counts.) But if there was ever such a thing as a just war, it was the Allied cause in World War II. It was also, according to the U.S. Constitution, the last legal war in U.S. history. Someday, perhaps, we will understand that the morality and legality of World War II were more than coincidental.

So, where are we now? For LBJ, substitute fellow Texan W. For the Gulf of Tonkin, substitute “weapons of mass destruction.” For Diem, substitute Chalabi. For “It’ll be over by Christmas,” substitute “Mission Accomplished.” For “hearts and minds,” no substitution necessary.  

True, the Vietnam analogy isn’t perfect. Saddam Hussein wasn’t the national hero that Ho Chi Minh was, and it’s highly unlikely that the various fanatical factions in Iraq will be able to mount as sophisticated and organized an operation as the Tet Offensive. (A decade or two of a Beirut/Belfast situation is more likely in store for us—not that that would be appreciably preferable.)  

But, while This Space isn’t exactly bucking for the presidency of the Ted Kennedy Fan Club, one has to admit that Our Senior Senator actually entered what was, for him, the distant land of coherence when he made said analogy. (His own family’s invaluable contributions to the 1960’s Southeast Asian unpleasantness notwithstanding.)   Were I Karl Rove, or one of the various Murdoch minions at the Fox/Bush News Channel, I’d think twice about smearing W’s November opponent as a 1960’s relic. Evoking that imagery might cause some people to look into just who spent the Vietnam years getting drunk, stoned and laid at an elite college, and who actually dodged bullets In Country. Say what you will about John Kerry, he knows what a war is all about. Like, for example, the one we’re in now.

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