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Vietnam has been a little more than a peripheral interest for me. I got to spend a year(late 1968 to late 1969) at US Army expense in what was at that time a war-torn country. Like many Vietnam veterans I have mixed feelings about it. I have read some books about it and, for my job before I retired, I got to read some papers drawing analogies from it. This book by the Kalbs discusses how the war affected decisions of Presidents and touches on possible affect on decisions of other groups and governments.
After America withdrew from Vietnam many terrorist organizations and dictators thought America was a 'paper tiger.' But the Kalbs posit an interesting theory with; "Ironically, the American defeat in Vietnam encouraged a procession of Kremlin leaders to make decisions that led ultimately to the collapse of the communist system and the end of the cold war." They too, drew the wrong lessons from Vietnam and entered Afghanistan to help their puppet.
Using semi-biographical passages the authors provide an idea of how the war affected the people playing a part in the decision making process. In 1971, a young veteran, John Kerry recounted the Winter Soldier Investigation in front of a Senate Committee. The Detroit investigation had told of atrocities committed by US personnel in Vietnam. One statement of his: "The country doesn't know it yet, but it has created a monster, a monster in the form of millions of men who have been taught to deal and to trade in violence." is also applicable for today.
Kerry's statements about the war came back to haunt in during his 2004 Presidential bid. A group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) questioned his actions in Vietnam. Navy records and other witnesses have since shown their claims to be lies and fabrications, it was enough to derail his bid for President. The group also succeeded in adding a new word to the political lexicon, swift boat - "To smear somebody with lies," and a preponderance of swift boat veterans are angry with SBVT for smearing their good name.
Among the points the authors bring out is while Vietnam might not be the only reason the US might or might not act in a crisis,each President has been forced to consider its lessons in considering war. That is to say it has always been there when the use of military power is being considered.
This book is an interesting study of the effect Vietnam has had on Presidential decisions and the American political process.
