(To see photos of the new Hanoi Hilton, John McCain trying to sneak in the back door of the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco in order to avoid demonstrators, and McCain trying to get me killed by giving me false intel about safety conditions in the streets of Baghdad, go to my blog.)
****
John McCain used to be a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and, according to the 1973 U.S. News and World Report version of his experiences there, he was held in "a small area of Hoala Prison which was built by the French in 1945. It was known as the 'Hanoi Hilton' to Americans." And, ironically, approximately 35 years later there really IS a Hilton hotel in Hanoi -- only this one is actually owned and run by the real Hilton hotel chain. I bet you that even Paris Hilton goes there now -- and brings her chihuahua too.
Once the war in Vietnam ended, things in Hanoi changed a lot.
But not much has changed in Iraq since Bush and Cheney coerced us into slogging into that "WMD" quagmire back in 2003. That "war" has taken on a life of its own and just keeps going on and on and on. But, hey, let's be optimistic. Maybe someday another Presidential candidate will also emerge out of the POW camps in Iraq as well. Oops, my bad. Thanks to the Bush mafia's example of condoning the torture and murder of Iraqi POWs, Iraqi insurgents appear to have followed suit and, as a result, there are currently only three American POWs being held prisoner by Iraqi insurgents. However, those three POWs surely look like Presidential material to me! Hang in there, Spc. Ahmed K. Altaie, Pvt. Byron W. Fouty and Spc. Alex R. Jimenez. I'll vote for you in 2012.
So. What's my point? That torturing and killing Iraqi POWs is a good way to keep the American POW population down? Hardly! That's something Bush or Cheney would think up, not me. MY point is that there are two particular similarities between the Iraq war and the war in Vietnam that I would like to bring up right now, just in case you might have missed noticing them yourself -- which is not likely because they stick out like a sore thumb.
First, there is the civil war similarity. "If we leave Iraq now while it is in the midst of a civil war, there will be slaughter and chaos," we are told again and again. This has become one of the main justifications for continuing the occupation of Iraq. But weren't we told the same thing as a justification for occupying Vietnam? If memory serves correctly, there used to be a huge civil war going on in Vietnam 35 years ago -- and Johnson and Nixon kept telling us that if America pulled out of Vietnam, whole bunches of Vietnamese would be slaughtered as a result and that country would fall into chaos forever. Yeah, well, the civil war in Vietnam ended as soon as American troops left, and the entire country is now governed by the rule of law.
Second, there is the "Domino Theory" similarity. "If we leave Iraq now, the entire Middle East will fall into Islamofascism". Nixon and Johnson also kept telling us that if America pulled out of Vietnam, all of Southeast Asia would go Communist. Wrong again. Regarding the threat of all of Southeast Asia going Communist, that didn't happen either. Not only does corporatism now have a major foothold in Vietnam but none of the other Southeast Asian countries fell to Communism either. You can now find American-run sweatshops all over Southeast Asia -- and there are now Hilton hotels located in Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and even China. Heck, even China has fallen to corporatism these days.
There was no major slaughter and chaos after Nixon pulled out of Vietnam -- and Southeast Asia didn't turn Commie either. So I guess that both of those theories were wrong. And I'll bet that they will prove wrong in Iraq as well.
There's a moral here, guys. Here it is. "If American troops pull out of Iraq right now, by the year 2038 we could have Hilton hotels open for business in Baghdad, Fallugah, Basra AND Mosul." So. WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR!
PS: Here is an excerpt from a forthcoming book by a political commentator and former active-duty Marine who won a Purple Heart in Vietnam. Sewart Nusbaumer's book is tenatively entitled "Campaign Addict" and describes his harrowing adventures on the 2008 presidential primary campaign trail and at various "Flying J" truck-stops along the way. And while in Chcago, Nusbaumer interviewed one Chicago Gold Star mother who had lost her son in Iraq:
"This war is going to be like Vietnam, in vain," said Barbara. As she looks out onto Halstead Street, cars drive by, a woman and her young son pass us. But I doubt she sees them. "You ask people 15 years down the road and they won't know anything about this war. Like Vietnam. Are Americans really that unappreciative of the lives that keep them free?"
I'm jolted!
Her son's death had nothing to do with Americans being free -- she knows this. Jonathan died in Iraq as those who died in Vietnam, not for freedom, but in vain. I say in a low voice, shaking my head slowly, "I don't know the American people anymore." And I wonder how could the majority of Americans believe Saddam Hussein was connected to 9/11 when there was not a shred of evidence? How could Americans support an invasion and occupation of Iraq without proof of weapons of mass destruction? How could Americans allow Jonathan to be killed when Iraq was not an imminent threat to America? I don't know Americans anymore.
It's all as if Vietnam never happened. As if Americans never learned that they cannot trust their government to tell them the truth. As if they never learned that they cannot trust their government with their sons' lives. Maybe there never was a Vietnam, for the majority of Americans.
Stillwater is a freelance writer who hates injustice and corruption in any form but especially injustice and corruption paid for by American taxpayers. She has recently published a book entitled, "Bring Your Own Flak Jacket: Helpful Tips For Touring (more...)
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
MS Stillwater's shrill comparison of the war in Iraq to the Vietnam war is typical left-wing nonsense. Particularly egregious is her statement, "There was no major slaughter and chaos after Nixon pulled out of Vietnam". Apparently MS Stillwater is unaware of the numerous international reports that indicated that hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese were executed or died of maltreatment in reeducation camps after the fall of Saigon. I guess it was "the rule of law" that forced more than a half million to flee as "boat people", tens of thousands of which died at sea.
If Stillwater wants to rant on about Iraq, she can be my guest but, she is clearly ignorant when it comes to even a basic understanding of the war in Vietnam.
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mikeusmc (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 12 comments) on Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008 at 4:34:57 PM
Nixon botched that war. Bush botched this one. What happens
I researched what happened after Vietnam was lost because of Johnson and Nixon's determination to kill as many Vietnamese as possible -- losing hearts and minds as millions died. Plus had Nixon negotiated earlier, the NV hardliners might not have been in power. But Nixon didn't and so they were. As a result, 65,000 were executed and approximately 250,000 became boat people. But the rest? They're pretty much under the rule of law. Freaking TOURISTS visit Vietnam now.
If 65,000 Iraqis get executed after the US pulls out and 250,000 flee, is that acceptable? No. Not under any circumstances. And yet it's okay for Marines to DIE in Iraq so Bush can get rich? Not.
I'm sitting here typing this with my Marine Corps T-shirt on, after having just got off the phone with my Marine friend who lost a leg in in Vietnam. He hated that "war". He hated that he was lied to about the reasons for fighting it. Nixon botched that war. Does that mean we have to sit around and watch Bush-Cheney-McCain continue to botch this one? I think not.
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Jane Stillwater (507 articles, 0 quicklinks, 9 diaries, 77 comments [3 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008 at 5:28:39 PM
"Nixon botched that war. Bush botched this one. What happens
This is really funny! YOU, you're wearing a Marine Corps t-shirt. Sister, give me a break. Apparently your one-legged friend has a poor understanding of the war in Vietnam as well. I would suggest the both of you read Moyar's Triumph Forsaken, for some much needed insight. Losing a leg is hardly an excuse for ignorance but, at least your friend was there. What unit did he serve in , during what time frame? What was his MOS and rank? I did a couple of tours as a grunt in the 5th Marines, '67-'69. I'm not pissed off because I got banged up. I'm nothing but proud of my servce and don't use my disabilities to justify hating my government.
The statement that Johnson and Nixon wanted to "kill as many Vietnamese as possible" only further demonstrates how little you know about America's Vietnam era military capabilities. Had "killing as many as possible" been a goal, the North would have ceased to exist. Your suggestion that NVA hardliners "might not have been in power" if only Nixon negociated earlier is not only absurd, it is a suggestion unsupported by historical evidence of any kind.
As for the "research" you did, it was clearly heavily influenced by your politics. The numbers you made up are laughable.
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mikeusmc (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 12 comments) on Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008 at 6:33:50 PM
"The Marines got in there and did their job. Served their country. You should know that if you were there".
My point was that I WAS THERE. Were YOU?
For someone who "wears a Marine t-shirt" and says, "Semper Fi", you act like you you were in the Corps but, for some reason, I have my doubts. The pieces don't seem to fit.
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mikeusmc (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 12 comments) on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 at 2:27:03 PM
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