cptrelentless wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 11:03 am Economy of Vietnam is doing ok ... Overall the good guys won

The economy of Vietnam started doing OK only when the disastrous progressive policies were halted because they had led Vietnam to the brink of starvation.

And 'overall' would include the KR.

I have met 1 retired US "spook" who operated in Laos during the Vietnam War. A very unassuming guy who attempted to help farmers cultivate crops during the war under the guise of an organization. He said no one game a shit about higher yields, lol. I actually smoked cigars with him and his best friend a few years back and listen to their amazing stories. Fascinating stuff on Indo China as well. In fact, while in Cambodia I was grateful to be educated by guys like him and the French on the regional interest and past conflicts. In the US our history is a bit red, white and blue. So, they are out there, he can't be the only one.

I will try to be generous here.
Many were bad. Bad to the bone. Including the many high-ranking military intelligence and CIA top brass (and down through the ranks) who played a leading role in heroinising the world during and after the war.

But most were probably just dumb kids who chose the dark arts for misguided romantic notions, and by their blinkered red white and blue patriotism.

It is that very red-white-blue centric outlook that most americans have, especially the spooks, which has caused so much grief and so much failure in US policies overseas. They are so naive about anything outside the 'merican mindset.

Please don't get me wrong. I am hoping like hell that the US spooks do finally get their act together, now that we need a sophisticated, well informed response to China's new expansion. US failure here will be much more catastrophic than its history of faulty-intelligence driven defeats in Cuba, indochina, Somalia, the middle east, Afghanistan etc, etc.

US spooks;
Many, bad.
Most, naive but not evil.
Almost all, hopelessly incompetent.

(as always, just my view)