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VietnamA chapter in Vietnamese as well as American history is drawing to a close. There is no need to chronicle the long war here. That has been thoroughly done in print and by broadcast.There is a need to heed the call to set aside recriminations as President Ford and Secretary Kissinger have suggested. That will be particularly difficult for veterans who continue to languish in hospitals or carry permanentscars.There is an equally great need to reassess not only specific American policies, but to re-evaluate a proper American position in world politics. What may other nations rightly expect of America and what may we realistically contribute. Ciearly gun-ship diplomacy as a matter of principle is dead as an international tool.Also we should have learned that we are not always the best judges of governments, but will be nagged by uncertainties of legitimate self-determination. Which governments should we advise on military matters? When should advisors be sent abroad? Even Vietnam did not answer those questions for all situations.We did learn that all existing governments are not popular governments. And we learned that under those circumstances all of America’s military strength can not prop up such regimes.There are no pat answers. As a matter of emphasis, though, it does appear there will be a continuing reliance on the Kissinger-type diplomacy. The secretary has had his share of criticism lately because of his Mideast failure, but no viable alternatives have been seriously offered.We will continue to have the irritating oil diplomacy and weTl have wheat diplomacy. There is the encouragement that the joint U.S.-Soviet space plans will lead to space diplomacy and unique solutions to nuclear diplomacy.At this stage Vietnam is a haunting bad dream. It is a humanitarian effort which grew into a nightmare for all concerned. That memory will linger, but in time it will pass.Meanwhile international priorities must be sought against the back-drop of goodwill which failed and the best of intentions which were unattainable.Realistic policies of the future must be drawn in light of those failures and with a hope for better solutions.
Newspaper Details
Sheboygan Press
Sheboygan, Wisconsin, US
Thu, May 01, 1975
Page 35
Full Page
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Badgerlink
WI, USA 08 Dec 2016
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