To the editor: Visitor contributor Viet Thanh Nguyen’s abstract of all issues flawed with America’s involvement within the Vietnam Warfare is, merely put, probably the most correct portrayal of that interval from 1954-75 (“Americans are still learning the wrong lessons from Vietnam,” April 30). From Presidents Eisenhower to Kennedy to Johnson and at last Nixon, we had the final word in bipartisan dishonesty and hubris in pursuing a basic imperialistic technique to increase American financial and political affect in Southeast Asia. Gaslighting the American folks with appeals to defend democracy by sending advisors and greater than 500,000 troops by the tip of Johnson’s time period was the peak of vanity and imperial ambitions.
Nguyen is spot on in respect to the utter failure of this society to come back to grips with this stage of presidency malfeasance. There was nothing noble with our Vietnam misadventure. And our media, public schooling system and consultant authorities failed the citizenry, in addition to these 3 million Vietnamese who died.
Bob Teigan, Santa Susana
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To the editor: This Vietnam veteran agrees with each phrase in Nguyen’s tremendous abstract of the teachings we must always have discovered from our misguided conduct in Vietnam. One often-heard sentiment expressed by U.S. troops was, “We’re the unwilling, led by the incompetent to do the unimaginable.”
Invoice Sensible, Santa Barbara
