Patachon at dKos reminds us of this timely headline:U.S. Encouraged by Vietnam Vote (NYT 9/4/1967)
United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in South Vietnam's presidential election despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting.Yeah, thanks for the cheerful thought.
For those whose history is cloudy, this election was followed in less than six months by the Tet Offensive by North Vietnam, and then decreasing support at home for the war, 5 years of "Vietnamization" in which Nixon tried to get our troops out, and finally the Paris Peace Accords which left the South Vietnamese to fend for themselves. Finally, the cutting off of further military aid to the South Vietnamese government and the resignation of Nixon (1974) led to the political toppling of the SV President, and eventually the fall of Saigon and the conquest of South Vietnam by the North (1975).
[Thus endeth the history lesson.]
1 comment:
Well, the realities on the ground are totally different; for one, it's hard to predict the degree to which the Shia, feeling excluded from the coalition, will wage war against it once we pull out. But the parallel in terms of "Mission Accomplished" propaganda accompanied by a lack of will to see the hard part through is definitely strong.
Yes, for the troops' sake, I hope we pull out soon. At this point, I honestly don't know what to hope for the Iraqis' sake...
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