Fog of War
I have a fair to middlin' interest in all things Vietnam. My dad was a tank commander in Vietnam and I grew up going to army reunions and the like, especially after my dad became Chaplain for the 25th Infantry Division Association.
I've spent a good deal of time trying to balance my, um, I suppose slightly liberal views on American policies during the cold war & imperialism in general with my deep respect for both my father, the men he served with, and the military in general. How do I reconcile my belief that we probably shouldn't have been in Vietnam and my deep respect and honor for those men that served, having seen "up close" their attitudes of sacrifice, commitment, duty, and deep, deep love for one another and their country?
I've sorta come to the general conclusion that it's just simply not helpful to conflate our political views or our political critiques with our attitudes towards our servicemen & servicewomen. It's simply not helpful. I concede though that's it's a very difficult disjunct to maintain, but there's something of this "love" thing that the Gospel dictates that makes me think that screaming "Baby Killers!" to the men getting off the plane, while doing little to fix current political conundrums, is simply the un-Christ-like way to go about dealing with anyone, more importantly those who, in some sense, are willing to die to protect you and yours.
But none of that is really the point of this post. I personal Hold McNamara & LBJ responsible for the mess in Nam, and there's an incredible new documentary coming out called The Fog of War about McNamara, about Nam, about his political views. It looks to be incredible. I've got the trailer for you to download here.
Oh, and I'd also like to state, for the record, that Apocalypse Now is not a war movie, and in particular is not a Viet Nam movie. While set in Nam, it's about something else altogether, even altogether unrelated.
Josiah Q. Roe | By Josiah Roe | 10:32 AM
Comments
I've studied a bunch on Vietnam, and comparing public support of that War to public support of World War II is quite enlightening.
Our involvement in Vietnam was just. Our lethargic tactics due to our unwillingness to fully commit to the war (caused in large part by our government's backing down to the wishes of protesters in the States) was the cause for us losing the war. During World War II, public support was exponentially greater, and we won.
You can't fight a war and NOT fight a war at the same time. America has no longer been America since that war started.
Posted by: bill colrus at November 14, 2003 10:55 AM
One of the many reasons why I love Pat Buchanan is that, despite the fact that he has been a big critic of the war in Iraq, he has an enormous, unwavering respect and pride for the servicemen that are serving in the war. And that's a lot more than I can say about guys like Teddy who seem suspiciously enthralled with the body bags that are coming back.
Posted by: Ben at November 14, 2003 03:52 PM
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