I Can See Clearly Now

>Subject: Re: CIA Doubts re Vietnam
>Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1998 21:06:09 -0600

>Mr. McGehee, (snip) it been determined that we dropped napalm, agent orange 
>and all manner of ordinance on our allies in the south? 

RMC COMMENT: This is a misunderstanding -- we did not drop all that ordinance 
on our allies we dropped most of it on the opposition  -- which seemed to be 
most everywhere in South Vietnam). 

>When you say search and destroy ops, what the hell do you think we were
>trying to do to the enemy, dance with them? (snip)

RMC COMMENT: Please define "enemy" in my view you include millions of 
loyal South Vietnamese who just wanted to choose their own govt - not one
imposed by a foreign power.

>These statements below sound like the ranting of an idiot who was never there.

Poster's personal involvement snipped.

RMC COMMENT: Is all of history irrational? McNamara said we got it wrong, the 
Bundy brothers said we could not win, as did any number of lower ranking 
officials, including myself.  Also a number of academics and others say
we got it wrong. I unfortunately had a unique CIA-sponsored opportunity to 
see in an undeniable fashion the mass-based structures of the Asian Communists 
-- observations buried/hidden by CIA.  Yet please see my web page for the 
CIA's evaluation of my knowlege of Asian Communism.

>As to how this (actually, not so tiny) country defeated us, (snip) 
>Of course you know it was political, not military, but the way that 
>you say it sounds like so much claptrap.

RMC COMMENT: A very unsubstantiated and unsubstantial answer. The decision 
was political not military? -- a half million U.S. troops, a million South 
Vietnamese troops, the near alteration or destruction of our own society, 
the bombing that exceeeded anything in WWII. The napalming, defoliating, 
shelling and attacking, the CIA-sponsored Phoenix program and its 40,000 
assassinations. A war that lasted essentially from 1945 to 1975 -- at what 
point, if ever, does it become military not political? 

>Good luck with your apparent paranoia, yours truly, (name deleted).

COMMENT: Then a number of scholars and others share my "paranoia."
I cannot fight the Vietnam War over and over again -- if you wish to see 
other essays of mine drawing upon academic as well as other sources, please 
do a search in dejanews.com   a power search, in soc.history.war.vietnam  
If you wish to see a CIA evaluation of my career, pls see my web page.
If you believe you know more than all these sources then there is nothing 
I can say that will change your mind. I existed in state of denial for years 
and months -- I can appreciate the sea change in attitude that anyone must 
make to accept my comments -- nevertheless I would ask for an open-minded, 
non-confrontational, measurement and assessment of the issues I have 
presented. I consider myself to be Vietnam veteran and earlier spoke
at any number of conferences of vet groups. I certainly understand
the personal agony involved in their re-evaluating their views of 
of the war.  

Ralph McGehee
CIABASE 
http://www.members.tripod.com/CIABASE/index.html

-----Original Message-----

>> >
>> >Why did we drop napalm, agent orange, and all manner of ordinace
>> >on South Vietnam our supposed allies?  Why did we kill millions
>> >of Vietnamese if we were there to save the Vietnamese? Why
>> >did we conduct search and destroy ops in S. Vietnam?
>> >How did this tiny country defeat the world's strongest military
>> >force?