Say Anything (hat tip NRO's MEDIA BLOG) has a brilliant list:
Vietnam: The common people expected to be empowered by a Communist victory. Iraq: The Kurds and Shias would have only the boot of the Sunnis to expect. They won’t give up.
Vietnam: The VC weren’t fighting alone. The North Vietnamese Army fielded full-on military divisions. In fact, Saigon fell to 4 corps of NVA regulars. From what I remember, no guerrillas in history have won without the help of a regular army. Iraq: The insurgents rely on homemade IEDs. They have no regular army support.
Vietnam: The media and liberal Democrats undercut the war effort, sapping public morale and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Iraq: Well, maybe the two aren’t entirely dissimilar.
As a former anti-Vietnam war Leftie, I acknowledge the truth of this last shameful point, and I want to urge everyone to do everything they can NOT TO LET THE LEFT DO TO THE IRAQIS AND AFGHANIS WHAT THEY DID TO THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE AND THE CONTRAS: abandon them to tyranny.
As you know, I also am a former leftie. Back in 1999, when I was still enthralled with Clinton and my own stupid, shallow leftism, I worked with a man named Qui, who was Viet Namese, and was one of the nicest people I have ever met.
ReplyDeleteOne day, Qui began talking about the war. He had fought against the Communists. I asked a few questions, and something I asked brought him to the subject of the day America left. He got a hollow look on his face, as if his soul had left his body, but his eyes just kept staring into the distance, in abject horror. He told me about the things he saw, and tears sprang from his eyes. The hurt and the pain had clearly not receded with the years.
I felt ashamed, and for the first time, I realized that we had done the wrong thing by leaving Viet Nam.