Text 18159, 65 rader
Skriven 2005-12-08 00:04:02 av Raymond Yates (1:3613/48)
  Kommentar till text 18070 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
Ärende: Copyright
=================
 MV> Hello Raymond,

 MV>>> Those pictures of people rushing for the embassy in Ho Chi Min
 MV>>> city and the footage of the helicopters being dumped in the sea
 MV>>> to make room for more helicopter to land did not exactly look
 MV>>> like an orderly retreat from a winner.

 >> Let's be entirely fair here a moment.

 MV> There is no such thing as "fair" in war. War is where one uses all
 MV> means available to achieve one's goal. This usually means that the man
 MV> wit the bigger gun overruns the other. Nothing "fair" about it.

If that were true, then why is there a Geneva Convention?


 >> In Paris the US and North Vietnam negotiated a peace accord.
 >> the US promised to withdraw from Vietnam id the North Vietnamese
 >> did not invade the South.

 >> The mad rush to the Embassy was when the NVA tanks rolled into
 >> Saigon. In other, more blunt words, they lied and broke their
 >> word. Treachery.

 MV> Sigh. That happens in war. Not fair, but it happens. Treachery is just
 MV> another weapon in war.

 >> Given that we were backstabbed, shold we have gone in and
 >> continued the fight?
 >> We ceratinly had the means, make no mistake about that.

 MV> Had you gone back in, you would only have found yourself in the
 MV> situation you tried to get out of. A no-win situation.

Not necessarily. had we gone back in with the came policies and tactics, yes.
but there were other optins available that were not explored. Special Forces
for example were doing a very good job behind the lines and in the jungle, but
were undersupported. I believe thay had the hearts and minds of the people
better than the regulr units did as they lived as the natives did. In some
cases, it was hard to tell them apart after a few months. Regular commanders
did not undertsand that.

 >> The evacuation was a rout, yes, but consider the circumstances.
 >> Had the North Vietnamese kept their part of the bargain, that
 >> would not have been necesssary

 MV> Bottom line is: you didn't win in Vietnam. And you didn't learn the
 MV> lesson from it as you find yourself in an unwinnable guerrilla war
 MV> again. In Iraq.

This still reamins to be seen, we're not finished yet, so it's too early to
write history.

 >> Some would say, so much for the value of diplomacy..

 MV> Diplomacy has its limits. Especially if it is only employed /after/
 MV> the armed hostilities.

It's not so good before, sometimes, either, if there's duplicity.

Me, personally, I /like/ "Speak softly, and carry a big stick".. We're not so
good at the speak softly part, but I would hope we work on it.

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 * Origin: Ray's Rocket Shop - Out to Launch (1:3613/48)