New Documentary: Vietnam and the Presidency

New Documentary: Vietnam and the Presidency

The parallels with Iraq are similar, in terms of the politics involved, and the similarities of the homegrown insurgency in Vietnam. Of course, there are different methods being used in Iraq, and there are more insurgent groups (some from outside of Iraq) who are attempting to sabotage the country.

But the overall environment is pretty much the same. The main similarity (in my opinion) being the U.S. going into a foreign country (knowing little about the region, religion, history, or the culture of the people) and trying to impose its will. Once again, we are getting the same result. Also, troops in Vietnam had a hard time determining friend from foe and had a tough time dealing with the insurgency. It seems that the U.S. does not learn from its past.

The documentary and discussions examine how the U.S. got into Vietnam from a political perspective- How Presidents get us into these disasters. We are hearing the same flawed logic with the war in Iraq (The old Truman Doctrine logic). Johnson and others did not want to be the ones responsible for pulling troops out (Sound Familiar?).

Listen to Documentary Here

Visit the Source Page Here. As a companion to the documentary, several discussion sessions about Vietnam and the documentary are available.

Courtesy of American Radio Works