VLVL 4: Vietnam

[Otto]

----- Original Message -----
From: "pynchonoid" <pynchonoid at yahoo.com>
To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2003 6:59 PM
Subject: Re: VLVL 4: Vietnam


> RJ:
> > > I wasn't comparing the Vietnam War with the
> > invasion of Iraq.
>
> Otto:
> > I'm glad to hear that 'cause that's been Doug's
> > argumentation.
>
> By ignoring the obvious parallels (noted by many more
> observers in addition to me

Doug, the differences are far greater than the similarities.

>-- oil, the need to
> contain a popular international movement with
> political and cultural ramifications that the US could
> not abide,

Vietnam isn't such a big oil country like Iraq, economics were only
secondary reasons. I still think that the crazy Domino-theory was the main
reason for the war. Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon knew that
Ho Chi Minh would have been the elected leader if free elections had taken
place.

> lies and propaganda used to justify the war
> and manipulate US citizens and a handful of allies
> into supporting it,

These are the few parallels I see too. But as we've seen two days ago Al
Kaida is active in Iraq now, justifying the US and British presence. If Bush
was wise he would give up his claim of keeping the US-leadership over all
troops in the country, only an UN-peacekeeping force like in Afghanistan
will be able to solve the problems because the Muslim world simply doesn't
like the Americans for their uncritical support of Israel. The tanks have to
painted white and the helmets must be blue.

> racial prejudice/fear of the Asian
> Other, & etc.), Bush has led the US into another
> foreign policy nightmare.

I hope it will not turn out to be such a nightmare, because the Iraqis
deserve a better future. The Vietnamese are still suffering from a communist
regime which has more power than it would have if the ruling party hadn't
defeated the mighty USA. It's interesting that both Asian nations that had
successfully fought the USA weren't affected by the 1989/90 breakdown of the
Soviet block.

> Sorry you can't see that,
> Otto, especially given the clarity with which you look
> back to understand the Vietnam War. In 30 years or so,
> maybe you'll be able to see that, as so many people
> now understand what was really going on in Vietnam.
>

The Vietnam War-crime was obvious even back in those days. The war was
broadcasted all over the world, we've seen the B 52's, we've seen napalm
bombing every evening in the news. In 1973 I wrote an US-critical article in
our pupil magazine after reading those books I've mentioned in my other
post, and would have been thrown out of school if the ballot among the
teachers hadn't turned out 21 to 20 for me. There is (still) no freedom of
speech for pupils in Germany.

Nobody can deny that Saddam Hussein had to go because he was striving for
weapons of mass destruction (Ho Chi Minh wasn't), and that somehow Iraq had
to be freed. Yesterdays mass demonstrations against the terrorists made me
optimistic that Iraq will not fall into the hands of a bloody dictator
again.

Otto