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The war in Viet Nam went badly for us, as virtually anyone in this country is now quick to admit, no matter what one thought of it contemporaneously.
What is also irrefutable is that we lost that war. We lost it to a supposedly inferior force. But the measure of inferiority by which some deem that force 'inferior' is flawed. They may have been less well equipped and less well trained and, perhaps, less disciplined. But that is not the total measure of any force. There is also the too often overlooked matter of common will and purpose. The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese people had it. We didn't.
And the fact we didn't became increasingly obvious. Johnson's famous "If I've lost Walter Cronkite, I've lost the country" pretty much said it all.
In the intervening years, our country has faced a variety of threats. And each time we stare down an enemy, they chuckle, in a way. They know - and frequently give voice to the notion - that the American people lack the will to wage a war through to conclusion.
I don't believe that's entirely true. I believe the American people had the will to win in Afghanistan, for example.
But George Bush chose a different course. There was no glory for him in Afghanistan. And so we went to Iraq. A place for which our country, once again, has shown it has no stomach.
And our supposed enemies there know it, too. And so they wait. They know we'll leave. We may declare some sham victory, but leave we will. But hook or by crook, in victory .... or not.
So where's the danger that will last for decades?
The next time there's a real, righteous, need to commit our troops in a foreign place, the enemy will see us for our recent history. Cowards. A nation that lacks the will to do more than the easy shock and awe television ready actions at the start. The smart bombs and the humvees and the laser guided missiles and the stealth bombers and all the other materiel that gets celebrated on the War Channel nightly, narrated by some chiseled jawed former Army Ranger or Navy Seal.
The wars we may face (and I pray we never will) will be harder fought with less chance for diplomatic solutions. The world may have allowed us one mistake, our Viet Nam. But now two? The second being a war of true imperialistic testosterone-driven aggression?
How do we recover from this? Our people and our enemies have learned lessons from George Bush. The over arching theme will be War American Style. War fought in the same way as a child plays with a new toy. Enthusiastic at first. And then the child turns from the toy as we have turned, now, from two wars. Wars in which it wasn't simply money ill-spent for a quickly abandoned toy, but war paid for by the hot, red spilled blood of human beings.
Because of this war, by this president, by this acquiescent, rubber stamping Congress, our military and our nation at large is now at greater risk. Wars, if they ever come again, will be more protracted, our enemies more intractable, our people less committed.
I am 60 years old and hope to die before there is another war. This isn't for me or any of my age. We've had it up to here with wars.
But war is, sadly, likely the inevitable consequence of a world with intolerance and and nationalism still so strong.
Sadly, because of George Bush, we are no longer the good guys.
Instead, we are an easy target.
Worst President in History is an understatement.
Impeachment is necessary.
Imprisonment is too short.
Vengeance, however, will be sweet.
And for *that* I pray I live long enough.
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