The myths of Vietnam

I can't give up a piece of territory like that to the communists, and get the American people to reelect me.

(John F. Kennedy, 1961, quoted in The Cold War: A Very Short Introduction, by Robert J. McMahon, Oxford University Press, 2003, pp. 101-2)

I am not old enough to remember the start of the Vietnam War, and I only dimly remember its end. My family demonized Richard Nixon for his role in the war, and with him all Republicans; even as they worshiped their martyred savior, John F. Kennedy. I was therefore shocked and sickened to learn, some years later, that it was not a Republican who launched the war, but a Democrat, Lyndon B. Johnson. I am perhaps less surprised now to learn that it was the god, himself, JFK, who set the juggernaut in motion.

Of course, Truman and Eisenhower are entitled to their share of the blame. When Truman had the choice to back either Vietnamese independence or French colonialism, he chose the French, forcing Ho Chi Minh to look elsewhere for support. When even the French decided they'd had enough, Eisenhower and then Kennedy couldn't let go. Why? Because they couldn't stand for America to lose “credibility”. Among those who tried to talk us out of our folly were Canada, France, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Japan. Exactly who were we trying to impress?

We did lose credibility, along with 60,164 American lives. For what?

When will we ever learn?