Bush's Brand New Viet Nam
23 August 2007, early morning
Bush has started going on about how Iraq is the new Viet Nam. Wait, I know what you’re thinking, why would you compare the new war to America’s most shining example of defeat? Well, Bush has been trying to argue that America shouldn’t have given up in Viet Nam when it did — I shit you not. This from the man who didn’t actually fight in Viet Nam. I’m sure if the US continued to bomb the shit out of Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia for a few more years they would have “won” the war, whatever that even means.
Bush also thinks the Khmer Rouge would have cooled it with all the killing had the US won the war in Viet Nam. There are a few things to keep in mind here:
- Many historians believe that the US bombing campaigns in Cambodia are what pushed the Cambodian peasantry to support the Khmer Rouge. They certainly destabilized the country.
- This bombing campaign killed hundreds of thousands of Cambodians. The bombings were stopped in 1973, at which time the US had dropped 540,000 tons of bombs on the country. If you are going to talk about genocide and mass killing, you can’t leave the US out of things.
- It was the Communists in Viet Nam who actually invaded and stopped the Khmer Rouge.
- The US itself has supported the Khmer Rouge. After Pol Pot was ousted from power, the US supported him and his insurgents for much of the 80s.
So yeah, fuck Bush.
I think Bush is basically at the point where he can say whatever stupid and inherently false things he wants. The “We don’t torture” story that you posted a little while back is a good example of that. It’s not true, and in fact it’s so untrue that it reflects his contempt for having to answer for his administration. But what’s the harm when a legacy that terrible is basically secured?
by Matt on August 23 2007, 10:31 am #
That’s an excellent ordered list refutation you have there.
by Jeff Egnaczyk on August 23 2007, 11:13 am #
Nobody regrets that the Vietnam war wasn’t prolonged except Bush. Vietnamese opinion on the Viet Nam war isn’t quite the same as Bush’s. Shocking, I know.
by Ramanan on August 23 2007, 1:14 pm #
NPR responded to the speech last night and this morning with historians analyzing what was said. In general, I got the feeling that the news media, along with everyone else, just went, “WTF?” Like wait a minute, we are supposed to take seriously the historical analysis of George W. Bush? Really?
I laugh, that I might not cry.
by Ben on August 23 2007, 1:21 pm #
Heh… Man, you’re right. I hadn’t even thought about that.
by Matt on August 23 2007, 2:35 pm #
I can’t write essays, but I can certainly write a good ordered list.
by Ramanan on August 23 2007, 2:37 pm #