|
|
Article: VIETNAM: The Necessary War.(Review)
- Article from:
- The Washington Monthly
- Article date:
- November 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Washington Monthly Company. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
VIETNAM: The Necessary War By Michael Lind Free Press, $25
"THE VIETNAM WAR WAS A JUST, CONSTITUTIONAL and necessary proxy war that was waged by methods that were often counterproductive and sometimes arguably immoral. The war had to be fought in order to preserve the military and diplomatic credibility of the United States in the Cold War, but when its costs grew excessive the war had to be forfeited in order to preserve the political consensus within the United States in favor of the Cold War. The Vietnam War was neither a mistake nor a betrayal nor a crime. It was a military defeat."
So reads the final paragraph of Vietnam: the Necessary War, by the ...