From London daily The Morning Star:
Glimpsing Vietnam
(Wednesday 22 March 2006)
Photography
VIETNAM INC by Philip Jones Griffiths (Phaidon, £19.95)
NICK WRIGHT sees the horrors that imperialist war visited on both the urban and rural populations of Vietnam, captured by the lens of a photojournalist.
Bush may be stupid but he or, at least, his managers learned one thing from the American war – that is the conflict that the West calls the Vietnam war.
He learned to keep journalists under control and photographers embedded in the physical bunkers and ideological mindset of their military minders.
Oddly enough, it is the GI and “squaddy” fingers on the digital shutter release that have provided the most compelling contemporary pictures of the degradation which imperialist war visits on an invaded people and which it, in turn, visits on the invading armies.
In years to come, thousands of British families will have to face the fact that Britain’s participation in these latest wars and occupations has tainted their sons and daughters with the moral complicity that inevitably pollutes an imperialist nation on the warpath.
Vietnam war: US nuclear plans: here.
Amsterdam anti Iraq war demonstration: here. Iraq war profiteers: here.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 
Mark Fiore animation on language, war, etc. at http://www.markfiore.com/animation/wrong.html
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Vietnam-Iraq: parallels, differences: http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/06/iraq-and-vietnam-different-wars.html
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Vietnam was a Democrat war; started, led, and quit. All by the democrats.
Protesters blamed the troops.
Today, they won’t blame the troops because there is a Republican to blame.
WWI and WWII are Democrat started wars.
Korea is a Democrat war.
Clinton invaded Yugoslavia, Somalia, Haiti, some people in Waco minding their own business.
Clinton bombed Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Chinese.
Gave North Korea nuclear bombs.
Gave the Chinese ICBM secrets, and by some miracle the North Koreans can bomb us.
And the problem is Bush fighting those who want to kill us. I guess killing us is what you want. But I don’t understand why you liberals wait around, just kill yourselves and get it over with.
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Hi Charles of TABZTHA@YAHOO.COM,
“Vietnam was a Democrat war; started, led, and quit. All by the democrats.”
Vietnam was a bipartisan war: started during Republican President Eisenhower, quit by Republican President Ford, with both Republicans and Democrats in between.
“Protesters blamed the troops.”
They really blamed especially Presidents Johnson and Nixon, worst escalators in the war.
“Today, they won’t blame the troops because there is a Republican to blame.”
Why are so many Republicans starting to turn against the Iraq war now?
“WWI and WWII are Democrat started wars.”
The Republicans, though in opposition, supported them. Especially about World War II, the standard US patriotic explanation is that Japan attacked the US in Pearl Harbor, Hitler declared war in solidarity with Japan; so, Roosevelt would not have had a choice.
“Korea is a Democrat war.”
How about Republican President Eisenhower? Was General McArthur a Democrat?
“Clinton invaded Yugoslavia,”
Very wrong. I demonstrated against that. Did you? The leaders of the Republican Party at that time (Bob Dole, with strong links to the Albanian nationalistic KLA, the previous Presidential candidate; and the leading Presidential candidates then, Bush and McCain) all supported that war.
“Somalia”,
Started under Bush Senior.
“some people in Waco minding their own business”.
Others say the Branch Dividians were a paedophile cult.
“Clinton bombed Sudan,”
Wrong.
“Iraq, Afghanistan”
Indeed, but much less than Bush, in the case of Afghanistan aimed at Bin Laden in person.
In the case of Iraq, the economic sanctions, killing hundreds of thousands of children, were much worse than the bombing in Clinton’s days. I remember Ms Albright, then Secretary of State, saying: [still, the sanctions] are worth it. A shame. Did the Republicans protest? No.
“the Chinese.”
Yes, in Yugoslavia. Covered already.
“And the problem is Bush fighting those who want to kill us.”
Only if you believe the lies about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction; and also having missiles able of firing those all the way to the USA. The Bush administration itself has admitted that was not true.
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I agree with charles
What have the democrats ever done for the country? Every time they were in power during the cold war, the Soviets gained on us! Post cold war, they allowed the terrorists to build up and menifest themselves against us!
Bush is doing what needed to be done, what noi one in the democrats is strong anough to admit or do themselves!
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Hi George, if by “the terrorists” you mean Al Qaeda: that was founded and nurtured by both Democrat Brzezinski and the Republican Reagan administration in the Afghan war, remember?
It is “manifest”, not “menifest”.
“Bush is doing what needed to be done”: the majority of people in the USA, and certainly also in the rest of the world, don’t agree. That should have consequences in a supposed democracy. Also, *what* “needed to be done”? More and more body bags with US soldiers coming back from the war zones? Still more dead Iraqi civilians, after the estimated over 700,000 since the infamous “Mission accomplished” speech by Bush? More torture like in Abu Ghraib, including sexual torture of children (and no, the buck does not stop at Private Lynndie England)? If you mean, more profits from government no bid deals for Dick Cheney’s Halliburton, Bush certainly did achieve that …
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I HATE YOU BUSHIE,!
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hey im doing veitnam in gcse history were also dping it for coursework so iwould like to ask could you gave me some info on what it was like then if its ok taaaa very much paul xxx
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Hi paul, if, on this blog, you go to here; and then go to the “search:” box on the right (scroll down), and type in the word “Vietnam” there, you will find items on the Vietnam war.
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hahahahaha u liberals r stupid….Clinton let Bin Laden get away!
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Hi Reagan4ever: so did Bush. And Reagan provided Bin Laden with lots of Stinger missiles and other support in Afghanistan.
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Im in the English 40 commando royal marines and just recently returned from the front line in iraq and have completed previous tours in afganistan as
well as other theaters of war. Even if the war is being fought for the wrong reasons to begin with to withdraw now would be disasterous not only to
the ongoing mission but also to the troops who have lost so many friends and paid such a high price…and for what. If iraq does turn into another vietnam then in the end its the troops that will pay the final price and bear the biggest burrden
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Hi Royal_marines 40: “Even if the war is being fought for the wrong reasons to begin with to withdraw now would be disast[e]rous”. That reminds me of Richard Nixon, who, after US troops had killed over 3 million Vietnamese, said that withdrawal would bring “a bloodbath” in Vietnam. There are disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan *right now*.
As for “the troops who have lost so many friends and paid such a high price”: what good would it do for them to lose even more friends?
“If iraq does turn into another vietnam then in the end its the troops that will pay the final price and bear the biggest burrden”. That is true for Britain. The high level politicians, oil tycoons, arms dealers and other war profiteers, who sent them to Iraq, certainly do not “bear the biggest bur[r]den”. Maybe you know the maxim: “Support the troops; bring them home”.
However,”the final price and the biggest bur[r]den” not just in Britain, but overall, is certainly borne by the people of Iraq: over a million dead, over 4 million refugees, etc. since Bush invaded in 2003.
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Interesting, all the blame is trying to be placed on the parties. How long will it be until the Republicans and Democrats rise up against each other in arms? Find solutions, not point the blame. We are all to blame by not allowing ourselves to ask the right questions when the war was started.
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Hi Joe, in a way you are right. The problem is largely interests in the weapons industry, oil industry, etc. pushing towards war, whether there is a Republican or Democrat administration. However, the Bush administration is certainly more to blame for the present wars than the opposition.
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it is very horrible.
پروژه های دانشگاهی
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Re #16: indeed. The wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, etc. should stop; no new wars should be started.
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interesting..
do you know who is the Photographer that made the first famous picture at the top of your page??
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Hi alessandro: the photo was taken by AP photographer Nick Út.
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