America believed it can shape the globe– flex its will with bombs and soldiers, with flags and fire. That was Vietnam– a war not of requirement however of arrogance. Eleven years invested chasing after ghosts in the jungle and a lie spruced up as approach: the Domino Concept. One nation drops, after that another. So, we sent our sons to die for that concept– and it showed a failing.
The fact? We couldn’t change the North Vietnamese. We might only change ourselves.
Yet we didn’t. Not right away. We marched right into Iraq. Into Afghanistan. Syria. Iran. It is as if duplicating the same error may reword the ending. It resembled foreign lives; American arm or legs were tokens of a power-broker’s video game.
And still, the Middle East theocracies stood, and the disorder grew. It was only later, in Ukraine, that something shifted. We assisted, yes– offered arms, offered advice– yet no boots on the ground. For when, we comprehended not every war needs our flesh.
Some claim Vietnam was a sign of the times. No. It was the indication of fallen short men in high offices, who assumed soldiers were chess pieces and war a policy tool. That believed negotiation represented weak point. It was old-guard hubris in medals and suits.