Joan Verner – 3/27/08

This page was last updated on March 30, 2008.

A senseless war like Vietnam; Joan Verner; Beaver County Times; March 27, 2008.

Here’s a previous letter from Ms. Verner.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“I recently went shopping for a new coat for my 92-year-old mother. I had a list in my head of the specifications that the coat must possess in order to be given her seal of approval.

“I finally found the perfect coat in the right size and color. The coat was a brand name that is well known for its quality products.

“I left the tags on until I took the coat to her house so that she could try it on and make sure it passed her high standards. It did. I then removed the tags and was quite amazed to see that the coat was ‘Made in Vietnam.’

“On Monday, I read a headline in The Times: ‘4,000 DEAD.’ In Vietnam, 47,424 soldiers were killed. I remember visiting the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., and feeling an enormous sense of sadness upon realizing the many lives that were cut short because of a war that made no sense."

[RWC] For someone concerned about soldier deaths, you would think Ms. Verner would get the number of Vietnam casualties correct, or at least close. The number Ms. Verner quoted appears to include only soldiers killed during or as the result of combat. On the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Ms. Verner claims to have visited, there are currently 58,256 names listed.

“We didn’t win that war; we left. There was chaos when the United States pulled out of Vietnam, but the country survived and that part of our earth and its people put their own world back together again.”

[RWC] “Chaos” is Ms. Verner’s description of the ensuing bloodbath that occurred in Vietnam and the 2 million killed next door in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge.

Does Ms. Verner really believe there would be no consequences for the West in general, and the U.S. specifically, if we left Iraq in a state where terrorists or terrorism supporting countries like Iran and Syria could take over?

In her desire to link Vietnam and Iraq, Ms. Verner fails to recognize the situations are completely different. While you can make the argument that Vietnam never would have attacked the U.S., you can’t make that statement about those who would control Iraq should we “get out of Dodge” before Iraq has a stable, non-terrorist government in place.

“Today, we fight another senseless war in Iraq. Four thousand dead — and how many more must die before we realize we can’t win this war either?”

[RWC] Ms. Verner is either ignorant of history or dismissive. The unwinnable allegation was proven wrong years ago by the North Vietnamese themselves. The 1968 Tet Offensive was a crushing military defeat for the NVA and Vietcong and the North Vietnamese were ready to throw in the towel. When they saw the U.S. press reported the Tet Offensive as a North Vietnam victory, however, the North Vietnamese knew they had a chance to win because the U.S. press had turned against the U.S. Our external enemies didn’t defeat us in Vietnam; our internal enemies did.

“Our citizens argue with each other about the future of Iraq: we can’t just pull out; we can’t lose this war; we can’t leave Iraq’s citizens to fend for themselves.

“The war will drag on; time will slowly pass by; many more lives will be lost, and we will build another monument to honor their lives.”

[RWC] Again, does Ms. Verner really believe we can cut-and-run from Iraq with no consequences?

“In the future, another citizen of the United States will go shopping to find another perfect garment and will be surprised to read the label ‘Made in Iraq.’”

[RWC] One day I hope to read a label that says “Made in Iraq” because that would mean we were successful.