Thought for The Week (for The Year, Really)
"We were not strong enough to drive out a half-million American troops, but that wasn't our aim. Our intention was to break the will of the American government to continue the war."
--North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap, in a 1990 interview with historian Stanley Karnow. (HT: Opinion Journal.)
posted by Lowell Brown at 9:18 AM
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3 Comments:
I don't know proper French, but Yogi woud say it deja vous all over agian.!
Posted by DL
"Thought for the week???"
That is somewhat a statement of the "bleeding obvious".
Let it be pretty clear. No one is happy about being invaded by a foreign force no matter how good their intentions are. Do you think the Japanese people are particularly happy that American troops are still stationed in Japan? I don't think so and they just barely tolerate it.
World superpower invades tinpot developing nation with overwhelming military superiority.
The chances of the Vietnamese actually defeating America in a military confrontation? ZERO.
They could not win the battle but they could win the war which is exactly what they did.
You would think that the experience of the Vietnam war would have taught the American government a few things about foreign policy.
Regards.
Posted by Michael Tam
"Let it be pretty clear. No one is happy about being invaded by a foreign force no matter how good their intentions are. Do you think the Japanese people are particularly happy that American troops are still stationed in Japan? I don't think so and they just barely tolerate it."
I agree with the premise behind your post, but I wonder about the above. I was in Japan just a few years after the war and they were rapidly co-opting our songs, and the teens wwere dressing like my sister was dressing back home. I think they admired and respected their conquerers. They certainly emulated our capitalist systems etc.
Another thought of more significance is that their old neighbor -North Korea -has played missile games with them already, and is far more than a minor threat to them. I suspect they enjoy us, if for nothing else the protection we afford them.
Posted by DL
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