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First of all, let me say that DH is a combat veteran of Viet Nam. So it's somewhat personal for me too.
And there is no question that Cambodia had killing fields and was run by a brutal regime. Did the general public know that we were running secret missions into Cambodia and Laos? No. I have several friends and colleagues who were in Special Forces and spent time in civilian clothes in Cambodia.
But, the story that was sold to us about Viet Nam was that if we did not stop Communism in Viet Nam then it would sweep across the whole of SE Asia, spread across Europe and be on our doorstep. Well, we pulled out of Viet Nam and it didn't sweep across SE Asia, or Europe and it never made it to our shore, did it?
The reason that the war was lost at home was because we should not have been there in the first place. The effects of Viet Nam lasted long after we were done with it and I think it had a profound change on our country and on our military. Early on in my career, a number of my contemporaries -- military colleagues, had been through Viet Nam. Early on, I attended a lot of DoD classes that focused on the lessons of Viet Nam. The military said "no more Viet Nam" and while the military learned the lesson well, the politicans didn't. The government lies to us -- they prey on our emotions, our sense of patriotism and our fears about threats to our freedom. Colin Powell's doctrine of defining the mission was born out his Viet Nam experience, and when he told Bush "you break it, you bought it" he spoke from his Viet Nam experience.
Having said all that -- thank you for your Service in our Military. Viet Nam vets deserve the same respect as those that have served in subsequent wars. The politicans decide -- the Military serves. If the military decided about wars, we probably wouldn't go off on too many missions of folly.
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