...

 LL> Our presence in Vietnam was never needed, or wanted.  We
 LL> should have listened to the French and stayed home.  But
 LL> Truman knew better. And Eisenhower.  And Kennedy.  And
 LL> Johnson.  And Nixon.  And Ford.

 The French should have stayed home. Eisenhower didn't know
 better, he got us in. Kennedy didn't know better, he got us in
 further. Johnson didn't know better, he got us in still further.
 Nixon should have known better, but he was all about power.

 LL> 58,000+ dead American soldiers.
 LL> Hundreds of thousands more American soldiers maimed/wounded.
 LL> Untold numbers of broken families in America.

 Yep.

 ...

 LL> There are still mines that remain active in Vietman,
 LL> Cambodia, and Laos.  Innocents are still dying, or maimed,
 LL> even today.

 And volunteers are working to remove those mines, may former US
 soldiers who fought there, and want to repair some of the
 damage.

 LL> Toxins were used, including Agent Orange.  How many
 LL> innocents have suffered as a result?  Not just the
 LL> soldiers, but the innocents?

 Way too many.

 ...

 LL> Vietnam was a place we never should have been.  It was a war
 LL> that never should have been fought.  Not by the French.
 LL> Not by us.  Not by anybody.

 True. Esp since they never tried to turn the North Viets to our
 side. We did have more to offer.

 ...

 LL> We could have attained the same goals through peace rather
 LL> than war. So why did we choose war?  What did we gain by
 LL> going to war?

 Well, the fall of the Soviet Union, but that didn't justify
 making someone else pay the price.

 ...

 LL> What a tragic waste.  For Americans, Vietnamese, and All.

 Yes, it was.


BOB KLAHN bob.klahn{at}sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn

... A man's reach should exceed his grasp or what's divorce court for?
--- Via Silver Xpress V4.5/P [Reg]