The New Vietnam Myths

FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | August 1, 2006 | Michael Benge

[Interesting Times]

Excellent overview of the current state of affairs in communist Vietnam, and the effort to bring Vietnam into the WTO.

[Interesting Times]

Ping to the thoughts of Mike Benge, which are always worth reading...

[sionnsar]

Rather, our politicians surrendered to the North Vietnamese communists

This needs to be repeated often and loudly.

[Peach]

The nicest family in town that I see every 3 weeks are from South Vietnam; they love America so much but miss some family left behind and we talk about the politics and history of Vietnam for nearly an hour every few weeks.

The book Stolen Valor went a long ways to outlining some of the myths surrounding our Vietnam vets.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks for the ping. I'm glad to see one writer has the juevos to print the truth on this subject. 'Course why should Vietnam be needed to counter China? After all China has been changed by fifteen years of brilliant trade policy.

The whole thing makes me sick.

We'll just strengthen our enemies until they can walk right into our nation and take posession.

[kellynla]

Marine Corps Viet Nam combat veteran Bump!

Semper Fi,
Kelly
"C" 1/5 1st Mar. Div. 1969-1970

[zot]

Thanks for posting this excellent report. Yes, indeed, anything by Mike Benge is always worth reading...

[ThanhPhero]

Go visit for a month. Do not take the sponsored tours. Travel and talk and listen. You will have no restrictions other than photographing military. If you carry signs complaining about the system you will be interfered with but you can talk to Thuy or Huong or Diem on the street or in a restaurant and you will be surprised at what you hear and at what you can say. And it is better now than it was last year and it was better last year than it was 2 years ago. Most of the remaining political and social(also political, of course) were taken from the Catholics last year. The people I correspond with all attribute that to American pressure.The Montagnards are analogous to the Indians in our own country circa 1890-1900. It is a bad situation and will not be improved without American pressure which is not there if there is no economic connection. The rulers will NOT just one Thursday morning at 10:00 o'clock dissolve the government and call for free elections. They will change gradually so as not to lose their jobs.

And Viet Nam is, indeed, a Southern buffer against China. China will not go lightly into Viet Nam. China understands that the Vietnamese army is not a piece of cake waiting to crumble into the Chinese maw. It did not beat the Americans- our Left did that- but it made short work of the Chinese proxies in Cambodia and manhandled the CHINESE army when the PLA crossed the border to punish Viet Nam for waxing the Khmer Rouge.

[seasoned traditionalist]

A leopard which has never changed its spots.

A repressive, dictatorial, Communist country for the past 50 years and it does not appear it is going to change any time soon--especially when countries like us (with the complicit and tacit support of demented appeasers and opportunists like McCain and Kerry) are willing to give them a pass and refuse to hold their feet to the fire for reform in order to receive any preferential trade or recognition.

The people are/were great. Unfortunately, Vietnam is one of the few Communist countries left in the world and it should not be supported in any way shape or form, unless or until they are serious about reform.

Until they are willing to give an honest and complete accounting of our MIA, they can go pound sand.

USAF
Military Intelligence Support Group
Saigon
Jan 66 - July 67

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks for the comments voicing and alternate view. I appreciate that.

[Eagle9]

Ping!

I read your comments on People of Vietnam Seek More Freedom, Rights and would appreciate any thoughts you might have regarding this article.

Thanks.

[JulieRNR21]

Of the many myths about the Vietnam War, the most prevalent is that United States lost the war. In fact, militarily, the US never lost the war. Rather, our politicians surrendered to the North Vietnamese communists.....

---

Today it is Dems like Murtha who would have the US 'cut & run' and surrender to the terrorists!

That's a parallel I see between Vietman & Iraq!

We need to 'Boot Murtha' and others like him who are underminding the War on Terror.

Look here: Press Conf. Aug 3:
Nat'l Anti-Murtha Vets Rally, October in Johnstown,PA
- John O'Neill main speaker

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1675110/posts

[VOA]

For an honest look backward (as a counterweight to this current article)
here's a link to Michael Medved's recording of
"Three Big Lies About the Vietnam War"

https://www.treefarmtapes.com/catalog/product.asp?productid=14142

The product should have a warning label: "Do not play in public school classrooms
or in lecture halls of universities or colleges, as head of teacher/professsor
might explode."

[GOP_1900AD]

Me want em cheap hard drive ... must.... build.... plant .... in Vietnam.... sort of funny if it was not so tragic.

[potlatch]

Thanks I.T., good article!

[NurdlyPeon]

And by the way, boys and girls, let's not EVER, EVER forget the fact that in the Vietnamese Communist War Remnants Museum (formerly known as the "War Crimes Museum") in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a photograph of John Kerry hangs in a room dedicated to the anti-war activists who helped the Vietnamese Communists win the Vietnam War. The photograph shows Senator Kerry being greeted by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Comrade Do Muoi.
http://ice.he.net/~freepnet/kerry/staticpages/index.php?page=20040531140357545

[ClaireSolt]

I am glad you know nice vietnamese. I just moved out of a mobile home park that Vietnamese changed into a Cambodian refugee camp. I saw many signs that they were involved in the sex trade business. At a minimum, it was an underground railroad of southeast Asians escaping commumnism.

[chesty_puller]

our politicians surrendered to the North Vietnamese communists

Kelly, weren't we winning when we left?

[Rembrandt]

"Now U.S. politicians are stating that they are confident that Vietnam will institute these changes once they embrace the WTO global rules-based trading system."

VN will institute those changes in the deranged dreams of these Dimocrat infidels.

[Toidylop]

The article's myths are spot on but the reality is even worse. The problem dealing with the VN communists is that they NEVER admitted any oppression and human right abuse as their party's doctrine. However, they mechanically labeled any dissidents (as someone demands basic human right and freedom of speech, religion and others...) as the enemy of the state. All were and continually are subjected to arrestment and "pschycologically" treatment (as several ex-peole army officers like General Tran Do). When they can't fix someone pschychologically , they arranged the subject to disappear unnoticed as the case of several Buddhist monks in Thai Binh province and the Montagnard in the central highland. These are some known cases monitored by the Vietnam Human Rights Network.

VN communist cadres and their security service have outright sanctioned the enslavement of its own people for sex profit (John Carey had written several articles on this). For all of the corruption and the ugliness of human right abuse, the VN communist party has hidden very well from western attention. Other words, American had been and are duped repeatedly. I'm very surprised to see a lot of people otherwise value freedom but somehow is willing to look the other way to let the communists oppress the people of VN.