The Fog of War

[gosh]

I know political posts are frowned upon here, but i wanted to comment on a documentary i just saw - The Fog of War. See http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0317910/

The movie is about Robert McNamera, sec of defense under kennedy and johnson. It really sheds some light on the whole vietnam war. After watching it i really see how similiar vietnam is to the current war in iraq. Iraq is not a vietnam-yet-but then again we only suffered half the casualities in vietnam half way through. Just because there isn't a high death toll in iraq doesn't mean it won't become a vietnam.

In the documentary mcnamera admits that the golf of tonken incident - that caused congress to give johnson the freedom to wage war against north vietnam-never happened. It makes me think of the weapons of mass destruction causing us to enter iraq, when it now seems there might not have been any weapons in the first place.

It also shows the lack of understanding of the enemy. Mcnamera and Johnson considered vietnam a part of the cold war, and if they went communist the rest of the region would follow. But in the documentary some guy that was head of n. vietname says it was a civil war, and they never would bow to russia or china. It really sounds like iraq, again. We see iraq as a part of the war on terror, but iraq probably sees the conflict as america flexing it's own muscle, maybe in an attempt to help israel. Again, both sides see a different cause to the conflict.

At one point Johnson says vietnam is a war against evil, a war against terror. Bush has made a similiar argument.

Now i am not saying iraq is another vietnam - not yet at least. What i am saying is the documentary really makes you think twice about the iraq problem. I am not saying iraq is a bad or good war. I am just saying it makes you look at iraq in more of a historical context.

-gosh

[FthrJACK]

look up the mai lai masacre and read some soldiers acounts of it...

[piaqt]

It's My Lai. Don't forget, I'm old enough to remember it. (hint hint)

[FthrJACK]

its done both ways all over the place, many credible sources use mai lai, i would guess mai lai is correct but obviously its pronounced "my"

it was only a rural village so i expect its not some "official" name anyhoo and would explain the spellings.

I'm old enough to remember it. (hint hint)

twas only just before my time piaqt, not a thousand years ago.

Anyways.. tell me some more stories about mamoths...

[FthrJACK]

Well, heres a piccy of MY Lai taken from the war, guess that proves me wrong huh.

Bleh

*Edit.. though i found that the place is really called "Son My", marked as enemy territory number 4 on Calleys reconisance maps.