I'm halfway through this 10 hour documentary and it really is a total education. My main understanding about the conflict was basically informed by Hollywood movies; America was trying to halt the spread of communism in South East Asia. But as I've now learnt, the whole thing was just built on a fear of lost pride for American Generals and The White House. Over and over again, you hear taped recordings of Kennedy, then Johnson stating the obvious; that this is a war that cannot be won, that the side they've chosen may not even be the right side, that to pull out would lead to a loss of face and possible loss of election, revealing possibly the greatest flaw in democracy.
Nothing is glamorised, it can't be. The war effort was measured in dead bodies rather than territory because no land could be gained. The more Americans became involved, the more they became the foreign presence the Vietnamese despised during French colonisation. The Vietnamese fought back in close contact, and the Americans basically slaughtered millions of people who just wanted to rule their own country.
I think the first 2 episodes leave BBC iPlayer today, so if you haven't watched them, make sure you do.
Nothing is glamorised, it can't be. The war effort was measured in dead bodies rather than territory because no land could be gained. The more Americans became involved, the more they became the foreign presence the Vietnamese despised during French colonisation. The Vietnamese fought back in close contact, and the Americans basically slaughtered millions of people who just wanted to rule their own country.
I think the first 2 episodes leave BBC iPlayer today, so if you haven't watched them, make sure you do.
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