So, last night I finished “Tour of Duty” by Douglas Brinkley, a history of John Kerry’s involvement in Vietnam, as well as his many activities protesting the war when he returned home. It is very difficult to read the book today and not draw any parallels to what is going on in our country today. Sure, it’s easy to say that we were involved in a quagmire then, and we are in one now. But I think the similarities run much deeper than that. In Vietnam, the motives for war in the region certainly evolved over the years. What began as a a result of fear over the spread of communism in Asia, certainly changed, particularly with exit strategy. Politics entered the equation. As President Nixon searched for a way to exit the war, he began a flawed “Vietnamization” policy to turn over the fighting to the South Vietnamese. History tells us that this effort failed as the area soon fell to communism after American troops left. As Kerry writes in his journals, the Vietnamese were worse off than before the war began. “How do you ask the last man in Vietnam to die for a mistake?” is the famous line that Kerry made when returning to the United States and joined the VVAW. Curiously, as I listen to the debate after the President’s speech, I hear many of the same themes. We have an arbitrary deadline of June 30 to “transfer to sovereignty to the Iraqi people” without a plan. Fighting continues. Iraqis, as the Vietnamese, are ill prepared to take control of their own country. As our only clear motive for war (to overthrow Saddam) has been accomplished, we are now serving, either perceived or real, as occupiers. Radical clerics are now filling the power vacuum left by the deposed dictator. Surely Saddam should no longer be in power, but are we more safe from terrorism? That’s very hard to measure. I would recommend “Tour of Duty.” It not only speaks to the character and life of John Kerry, it also illuminates the Vietnam era in great detail. If we do not learn from our history, we are doomed to repeat it–I read that somewhere (Santayana).
