Letters to the Editor: America’s involvement in Vietnam War displayed ‘the ultimate in bipartisan dishonesty’

To the editor: Guest contributor Viet Thanh Nguyen’s summary of all things wrong with America’s involvement in the Vietnam War is, simply put, the most accurate portrayal of that period from 1954-75 (“Americans are still learning the wrong lessons from Vietnam,” April 30). From Presidents Eisenhower to Kennedy to Johnson and finally Nixon, we had the ultimate in bipartisan dishonesty and hubris in pursuing a classic imperialistic strategy to expand American economic and political influence in Southeast Asia. Gaslighting the American people with appeals to defend democracy by sending advisors and more than 500,000 troops by the end of Johnson’s term was the height of arrogance and imperial ambitions.

Nguyen is spot on in respect to the utter failure of this society to come to grips with this level of government malfeasance. There was nothing noble with our Vietnam misadventure. And our media, public education system and representative government failed the citizenry, as well as those 3 million Vietnamese who died.

Bob Teigan, Santa Susana

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To the editor: This Vietnam veteran agrees with every word in Nguyen’s fine summary of the lessons we should have learned from our misguided conduct in Vietnam. One often-heard sentiment expressed by U.S. troops was, “We are the unwilling, led by the incompetent to do the impossible.”

Bill Smart, Santa Barbara