Who will you serve?
To the Editor:
I volunteered to serve during wartime. We had experienced the Cuban Missile Crisis and had military advisors training foreign nationals in Vietnam. Things escalated quickly and we found ourselves, “Neck deep in the big muddy ....” to quote the song by Pete Seeger. Our nation slowly slid into commitments that would cost thousands of young Americans their lives.
My training saved me from a battlefield experience. After a year of preparation, I was assigned to analyze intelligence information and create reports which were used to make military efforts more successful. It was disappointing to see the lack of accurate reporting to the general public about what was actually taking place in Vietnam. But I realized the media couldn't possibly have shared the correct information without undermining the national will to achieve the imagined victory: a victory always said to be just a little further along in our future — a future that failed to arrive.
Reality was much different than we imagined in the 1960's. After we left, a liberated Vietnam would become a relatively prosperous, friendly place. The Vietnamese became known for their ability to forgive the arrogance of Western outsiders who attempted to install a puppet government. Their formerly war-torn country is now a popular tourist destination.
I thought about our failure in Vietnam and how it may compare to what we are about to endure in South and Central America. Our president has taken it upon himself, without constitutionally required approval by the US Congress, to declare war on Venezuela and take down Maduro. The first excuse for military action was attacking alleged drug shipments headed to the U.S. Once the president pardoned the convicted drug kingpin and former president of Honduras, the hypocrisy must have been clear to most people.
Finally, the real motivation to conduct war on Venezuela slithered into view: it was always about the oil. Of course, it also helps to push the Epstein files off the front page. President Trump thinks he can take the oil of a sovereign nation and give it to his donors, the oil industry. Many can remember our history with gunboat diplomacy. I hope we have learned enough of our history not to repeat the worst parts. South America remembers all too well.
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A couple of years ago we celebrated the college graduation of our friend's grandson. He was an ROTC cadet in college and went directly into the military, where he was trained as an intelligence officer. He and I had a lot to talk about when I last saw him. I was not surprised a few months ago when his grandmother told me that he was so disappointed with the new leadership of the military he has resigned his commission. In light of recent events, I am even more impressed with that young man who wanted to serve his country, but also chose not to serve the naked ambition of unworthy leaders.
Jim Howe
Cullowhee
