It’s Vietnam All Over Again

It’s Vietnam All Over Again

– By Ed Kociela –

I cannot remove the images of thousands of people scratching and crawling to find a place on a helicopter as the Fall of Saigon took place over 11 bloody, horrific days in 1975 that counted down the end of an immoral, unjustified, corrupt war that tore a nation apart.

The military was doing its very best to evacuate United States embassy workers and civilians from Saigon as forces from the north and south clashed viciously in one final struggle that made no distinction between the civilian and military populations.

It was, perhaps, America’s oddest war with no real ground ever taken, no flags planted, just body counts scribbled on a daily scorecard to indicate who won that day’s blood match, death being the only marker.

We are watching a disheartening replay of sorts as Western embassies and civilian workers are being evacuated from Kabul, where a tiny force of guerilla warfare diehards have defied the odds and taken over.

The Afghanistan military is some 350,000 strong, trained, armed, and propped up for two decades now by the most advanced, richest military organizations on the planet. The Taliban, a rugged, ragtag assemblage of Jihadists who believe that the West is trying to eliminate Islam, has no business taking over a city, let alone an entire country. They came into this scrap the decided underdog. They had no chance, they were expected to fall apart, and to disappear early on. Their army is untrained, they have no air force, there is no wizardry in their technology, their vehicles and weapons have been pieced together wherever they can find them, and they represent no state, have no official ties to any recognized government. But, they are coming out winners.

How can this be?

How did David slay Goliath?

How could the crude and rudimentary roadside improvised explosive devices, sneak attacks, and guerilla tactics overcome technology so sharp, so advanced, that it could direct a Tomahawk missile into a teacup with precision accuracy?

In the beginning, this was supposed to be a retaliatory war to punish those who put together the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Except, it really wasn’t. The perpetrators of the terror attack – from planning to execution – were rooted deeply in Saudi Arabia, not Iraq, not Afghanistan. But, the U.S. decided to settle an old score with Iraq by forcing a regime change and Afghanistan swooped up and sheltered Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda forces, which are now under the protective wing of the Taliban.

Nobody expected these underdogs to last long in this fight and certainly, nobody would have predicted an outcome that would result in Western dignitaries fleeing for their lives as Taliban forces swept through Afghanistan, especially over the last week, taking, with surprising ease, major regions and cities as they rolled to Kabul to overthrow the existing government.

It is imperative to note that this is not a failure of the U.S. troops that had their boots on the ground over there. Those ladies and gentlemen fought long and hard with distinction and honor for the most part and are not to blame for this failure.

Instead, the blame should fall on the instigators of this unfocused, misdirected tragedy and those who perpetrated it over the years, allowing the loss of life and treasure to be spread out over nearly two decades. It was also supposed to be a cakewalk in Vietnam, you know, which ran on for nearly as long with major U.S. troop involvement from 1961 until 1973. The United States first appeared there in what was couched as an advisory capacity.

And, it was supposed to go quickly in Afghanistan.

History proves otherwise.

The failures come from bad diplomacy and clinging to the naïve thought that it was as important to win over hearts and minds as it was to rack up a body count.

While we were fighting in the jungles of Vietnam, we were bringing Westernization to the people, teaching them English, building schools, initiating social programs that were contrary to their culture and traditions.

While we were fighting in the deserts of Afghanistan, we were also bringing Westernization to the people, teaching them English, building schools, initiating social programs that were contrary to their culture and traditions.

Oh, yeah, we also poured a lot of pure, hard cash into both countries, loaded on pallets, and carried over on military transports. Some went to rebuilding both countries, but a lot of it remains unaccounted for as a result of rampant corruption.

But, the real reason why the United States and its allies ingloriously failed is that the people who were supposed to carry the fight – their national militaries – lost their will. Whether it was centuries of culture, greed, and corruption, or just mental and physical fatigue, the North Vietnamese and Taliban forces became indomitable. These “police actions,” as President Harry Truman called them when he sent troops to Korea, just do not work. They are an ill-advised expenditure of life, treasure, and the flexing of a wrongly assumed moral authority to intervene in another country’s culture and heritage. That doesn’t mean the world should turn a blind eye to human rights violations and injustice, it just means that the greater nations can wield more power through trade, foreign aid, and negotiations than by going all Medieval and initiating senseless bloodletting. As we have learned, since the days when the United States was the singular nuclear superpower on the planet, you cannot force cultural, political, or religious change by drawing swords.

I take issue with President Joe Biden, who, as he ordered 3,000 troops to Kabul to help with the evacuation, said that this is now Afghanistan’s war. That is simply spin, bad spin, which we have had far too much of over the last half-century or so in the United States.

This is not now and has never been Afghanistan’s war.

We started it, we escalated it, we drew others into it. Just because we are pulling out of it doesn’t change any of that.

All it does is prove that history has taught us nothing.

And, we all know what happens to those who do not learn from history.

Viewpoints and perspectives expressed throughout The Independent are those of the individual contributors. They do not necessarily reflect those held by the staff of The Independent or our advertising sponsors. Your comments, rebuttals, and contributions are welcome in accordance with our Terms of Service. Please be respectful and abide by our Community Rules. If you have privacy concerns you can view our Privacy Policy here. Thank you! 

Click here to submit an article, guest opinion piece, or a Letter to the Editor