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Mr. Luddite

On 9/23/2014 2:43 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 23 Sep 2014 13:35:41 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote:

Yeah, we've really "done something" with our military in Vietnam, Iraq,
Afghanistan, Panama, Grenada, et cetera.

I tend to agree with you on Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. We only
made a mediocre problem worse.
It is easy to argue that Grenada put a stake in the heart of Cuban
adventurism in the region and that wasn't a bad thing.
We tossed a drug dealing dictator out of Panama.
I don't know enough to say whether their liberal democratic government
is a success but you should like them.
We don't hear of much bad coming out of there other than screw ups and
massive cost overruns with the canal renovations but that is typical
with government projects
A big political concern is that they could become a client state of
China.

Interesting that 35 years after the end of hostilities, Vietnam/US
relations have warmed considerably. Vietnam's primary concern now is
China and views the USA as an ally.

Furthermore, Vietnam isn't the backwards nation that North Vietnam was
in the 1960's. A taste of some freedom and capitalism spoiled the
North's influence forever.