Vietnam was before my time, but as a pacifist, war is always the worst 'solution' to any 'problem'. To me all 'problems' with other countries are better solved by diplomacy, economic pressure and building relationships - but what do I know?
(I'm so naive I think human being basically want all the same things, and generally don't want to die.)
I happen to grab some old casette tape laying around and found myself listening to the Woodstock album. Quite a blast from the past .
How little we have grown as a people when it comes to killing others. I think there is an edict against killing somewhere... it might be in one of the popular religious book that fanatics like to tote around,
So my Vietnam equation is this - the American people will not rise up en masse against the government to protest the war unless at least 58000 Americans die in Iraq. Like the media, I won't be counting the soldiers that die here in the US from different kinds of Iraqi fall-out.
So, in a couple of years, when that many have died maybe the "regular Americans", who have tuned out the war, will say "hey, that's a lot of people..." or the troops will quietly pull out... Mission really accomplished!
Then in a few years we can invade and kill a bunch of other people for no reason.