Enemy Combatant
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Bush, "Staying The Course" During The Vietnam War, Courageously Volunteers To Stay Home:
from their (fascinatingly surreal) 2/8/04 interview:
Russert: Were you favor of the war in Vietnam?
President Bush: I supported my government. I did. And would have gone had my unit been called up, by the way.
Russert: But you didn't volunteer or enlist to go.
President Bush: No, I didn't. You're right. I served. I flew fighters and enjoyed it, and provided a service to our country. In those days we had what was called "air defense command," and it was a part of the air defense command system.
The thing about the Vietnam War that troubles me as I look back was it was a political war. We had politicians making military decisions, and it is lessons that any president must learn, and that is to the set the goal and the objective and allow the military to come up with the plans to achieve that objective. And those are essential lessons to be learned from the Vietnam War.
Gee, and here I thought an "essential lesson" to be learned from the Vietnam War was something about the government *lying* to the American public about motives, tactics, "progress" and outcomes of an unwinnable guerilla war against nationalist insurgents trying to drive us out of their country . . .
But what do I know? In February of 1968, for me, it was quite the ethical quandary: either (1) sign up for Vietnam; or (2) finish fourth grade . . .
