Overcoming the Past? The good news is that while most of America continues to indulge in this national charade, and refuses to come to terms with its bloody past and prevent the "past" from becoming "prologue" again and again, the tiny S-shaped country upon which the U.S. military visited so much death and destruction has … Continue reading Jumping on the Vietnam War Commemoration Bandwagon: The Vain Search for Honor
american war in vietnam
“Review” of Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam
Haunting. This is the title of a "review" I recently posted on Amazon about Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam by Nick Turse, which is available in paperback today. Actually, it's not so much a review as it is a rebuttal to every criticism - or at least all of the ones … Continue reading “Review” of Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam
“In Return to Vietnam, Vets Tackle Mess They Left Behind”
Some excerpts from this 2 December 2013 Newsweek magazine article written by Jeff Stein: It’s not easy to find a turkey dinner in Hanoi, but a handful of Americans and their Vietnamese friends gathered last Thursday over an imported bird cooked for them at a fancy restaurant in the capital’s old quarter, and they gave thanks. … Continue reading “In Return to Vietnam, Vets Tackle Mess They Left Behind”
“From the Lion’s Den: An Open Letter (and Invitation) to Vietnam Veterans”
What America owes Vietnam it can never repay, though there are many Americans in the U.S. and Vietnam today, including veterans, who are striving mightily and in myriad ways to contribute to the physical and spiritual healing process. The "Nam," as some of you still think of it, this country of your dreams and your … Continue reading “From the Lion’s Den: An Open Letter (and Invitation) to Vietnam Veterans”
“The 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War: Revising the Past, Revisiting the Lies”
This piece about the US commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War was published in The Huffington Post blog on 9 April 2013. I introduced it with this excerpt from a 2003 essay written by war veteran Steve Banko: One of our victims was searched when the shooting stopped and the bleeding continued and was … Continue reading “The 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War: Revising the Past, Revisiting the Lies”
Hagel Hearings & The Vietnam War/Kill Anything That Moves (KATM)
Below is another Vietnam Studies Group exchange about Nick Turse's new book Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam (KATM). I responded to a colleague from the University of Arizona whose main criticisms are that Turse "tells us nothing new" and that he commits a sin of omission by excluding information that contradicts this colleague's theory - hypothesis … Continue reading Hagel Hearings & The Vietnam War/Kill Anything That Moves (KATM)
Calling a Spade a Spade: Stanley Karnow, Stanley McChrystal & Vietnam
Below is a recent exchange on the Vietnam Studies Group (VSG) listserv. Members include Vietnam scholars and practitioners, current and former diplomats and spooks ("agents or people involved in espionage"), journalists, non-governmental (NGO) organization staff, etc. Quite a few are overseas Vietnamese (Việt kiều). Read from the bottom up. Bernard Kalb, the journalist and former US State Department spokesman during … Continue reading Calling a Spade a Spade: Stanley Karnow, Stanley McChrystal & Vietnam
An International Educator in Vietnam 
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