As we didn't learn any of the lessons of Vietnam, this might be something more to ad to the debate or decision to get out of the already extremely failed occupation of Afghanistan!
Earlier to day I received this:
JFK Library Releases New Evidence on Diem Assassination
Posted - November 3, 2009
Washington, DC, November 3, 2009 - The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library has just released new evidence on United States collusion in the late 1963 coup d’etat in South Vietnam that ended in the assassination of Saigon leader Ngo Dinh Diem. This is a crucial new piece of the puzzle, for the release includes actual tape recordings of White House meetings several months earlier when President Kennedy initially considered requests from South Vietnamese generals for U.S. backing in a coup attempt. The tapes reflect both Kennedy’s doubts and U.S. determination to change the game in South Vietnam, and decisions made here, in August, led directly to the November coup. Later this month the Archive will post an Electronic Briefing Book reflecting upon the new evidence. For the present we are re-posting our earlier commentary presentation, documents and tapes directly pertinent to the American role in the Saigon coup.
Then just caught this Media report I'm sure similar will be reported on other outlets tonight and tomorrow:
Tapes show JFK conflicted over Saigon coup
Struggles with South Vietnam leader similar to Obama's Afghan situation
Newly released White House tapes from the Vietnam War era portray President John F. Kennedy wrestling over the fate of South Vietnam's strongman in a situation that appears to mirror President Barack Obama's quandary today in dealing with Afghanistan's shaky government.
Obama is beset by questions about President Hamid Karzai's popularity, honesty and management of the war against Taliban, while Kennedy dealt in 1963 with President Ngo Dinh Diem and his inability to turn the tide against Viet Cong insurgents.
At issue in both conflicts was a rising number of U.S. casualties in defending unpopular governments...>>>
Report with JFK Tapes Played