It is Sunday and what better time for a little history?  What better time to correct some historic misconceptions?

AS most people know that I am an antiwar supporter after witnessing combat first hand…..

With Ukraine exploding and the war of words over Taiwan the US seems to be running head long into another war……of all the wars that have erupted since the end of WW2….must were a mistake that all it did was waste money and cost many American lives.

Wars like the Spanish-American, World War One, Vietnam….this is the one that I am most familiar with…..Vietnam…..

The U.S. war in Vietnam had an undeniably just cause which was to defend the Republic of South Vietnam from Communist takeover. However, Vietnam was never a U.S. vital national interest and the loss of 58,000 soldiers killed in action was not justifiable and did nothing to further U.S. national security. This is particularly the case given that Communist North Vietnam ended up annexing South Vietnam anyway, and the Communists took control of Laos and Cambodia as well. The Vietnam War proved to be the worst strategic mistake by U.S. leaders since President Harry Truman cut off all military assistance to the Nationalists in 1946 at a time when they were on the verge of winning the Chinese Civil War—leading mainland China to fall to the Communists instead.

That is one read about the others….

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/8-wars-united-states-should-never-have-fought-201824

Any opinions on these wars?

As long as we are talking about Vietnam…..here is some info that you probably did not know…..

We all have heard about the bravery and costs of places like Khe San, Hue…..but most of that was all show…..did we win all conflicts with our superior military?

Not really they were seldom reported….you know keep the home fires burning brightly….sort of thing….

One theme presented by supporters of the American empire is the U.S. military is invincible and can never lose unless stabbed in the back by impatient politicians. They claim the U.S. military never lost a battle during the entire Vietnam war. On August 30, 2011, President Barack Obama proclaimed to a gathering of veterans: “But let it be remembered that you won every major battle of that war. Every single one.” Vietnam vet Senator John McCain repeated this lie in a 2013 article in the “Wall Street Journal.” This myth was disputed by America’s most decorated officer of that war, Colonel David Hackworth, in his book “About Face.” The U.S. military had every advantage, yet mistakes were made and battles lost. Internet research turns up these 112 lost battles of the Vietnam war: 

1. Battle of Ap Bac – In January 1963, American advisors launched a battle after they pressured reluctant South Vietnamese officers to use American air mobility assets to destroy the Viet Cong. The attack was a disaster in which the VC mauled a far larger force while shooting down five American helicopters (pictured) and damaging eight, while killing three Americans and wounding eight.

2. The Sinking of the USNS Card – This World War II aircraft carrier was later used as a transport for American military cargo. On May 2, 1964, it was moored in a heavily defended harbor in the Saigon River. Two VC commandos crawled down a sewer pipe and attached explosives to the ship. The explosion knocked a huge hole in the hull and killed five American crewmen, causing the ship to sink 45 feet to the river bed.

There are so many more…..checkout the list…..

http://www.g2mil.com/lost_vietnam.htm

As you can see not all was blued skies and unicorns….and I would bet every war has had their failures that we seldom hear about until many years later.

Here is one last thought—-the US has been in a state of war since the end of WW2…..that is damn near 80 years….just think what this country could have accomplished with the funds that was wasted on wars we could win.

Was all that waste worth it in the end?

Say what is on your mind

Have a day…..be well….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”