Vietnam disaster; Afghanistan fiasco

It is 1975, the biggest defeat ever for the US military as panicked Vietnamese were taken by helicopters off the top of a Saigon building near the US embassy.

It is 2021, terrified Afghans chase US air force planes on a Kabul runway, fleeing for their lives. While the withdrawal was a correct decision, this was also a disaster that could have been avoided – and pundits are writing the obits for Biden foreign policy.

In this moment of recriminations, especially concerning those who are left behind, a longer view may help.

I am not predicting, but it is plausible that as the U.S. defeat in Vietnam brought gains at home, the US could make similar advances – if only we are to take lessons from the disastrous Afghanistan debacle.

Consider these post-Vietnam War developments:

= Ending US troop casualties numbering 58,000 in Vietnam;

= Stopping the spending of $1 trillion (in today’s dollars) trying to win hearts and minds;

= Ceasing bitter domestic divisions over war;

= Ending death and destruction by US forces in Vietnam;

= Growing widespread, if relatively brief, public questioning of US military adventurism, later recast by militarists as “Vietnam syndrome.”

= Shifting of U.S national security policies to more important geopolitical regions, including Europe, the Middle East, China and the Koreas, and collective international cooperation: OECD, Helsinki, ASEAN, APEC, G-7, G-20, even UN and NATO out of area.

= Growing US trade and political ties with new Vietnam leadership;

= Reforming intelligence community after the Church (D-ID) committee hearings and the end of the draft;

= Winding down of Vietnam War helped to lead to Nixon’s opening to China and détente with the Soviet Union;

= And, finally, the opportunity by the U.S. military to recognize the limitations of military force and recalibrate policies - which ended with the Bush decision in 2002 to toppled Saddam Hussein.

Tragically, the gains and lessons we considered – and could have permanently learned – were lost, forgotten, or simply disregarded, replaced by hubris, seemingly cheap goals and the overwhelming forces of US military interests.

It should not be forgotten that the policies of Vietnam’s post war leadership, first formed in rigid ideology, mellowed as pressures grew to revive that nation’s economy. Furthermore, Vietnamese leaders, having shown they defeated their US opponents, gained a post-colonial self-respect that has better enabled them to enter into dialogue with US leaders.