In this episode of Always at War, we examine the Vietnam War on the 50th anniversary of its effective conclusion (April 30, 1975) and explore how it established the template for America's subsequent "forever wars."
Through powerful imagery and historical analysis, hosts Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan, joined by scholar Andrew Bacevich, trace the direct connections between Vietnam and the War on Terror, revealing how both conflicts shared similar patterns of mission creep, civilian casualties, unclear objectives, and inevitable American withdrawal.
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See how the iconic rooftop helicopter evacuations of Saigon and Kabul, separated by nearly 50 years, represent bookends to what Bacevich calls America's "56-year long war" [https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/01/26/a-very-long-war/]
Learn how the elimination of the draft after Vietnam was not a victory for peace but actually fulfilled Defense Secretary McNamara's disturbing vision to "go to war without the necessity of arousing the public ire" [https://peacepolicy.nd.edu/2015/05/18/vietnam-wrong-lessons-learned/]
Understand why Bacevich argues America's addiction to war stems from "overstretch, compounded by indolence" rather than from strategic necessity [https://harpers.org/archive/2020/03/the-old-normal-united-states-addiction-to-war-andrew-bacevich/]
Discover how these "wars of choice" were fought in response to threats that were "figments of fevered imaginations" with no true strategic necessity [https://voxpopulisphere.com/2020/12/28/andrew-bacevich-reflections-on-vietnam-and-iraq/]
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Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions.
Each episode, they’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.
Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.org
Contact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.org
Show art by Justin Hantz
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