I’ve changed my mind.
Drafted in 1969, I ended up in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam as an M60 machine gunner. I was a typical U.S. Army grunt who rarely saw a South Vietnamese soldier. Other than two ex-Viet Cong “Kit Carson” scouts we never worked with the South Vietnamese.
Many Army of the Republic of Vietnam units fought well and thousands died for their country, but in the end, the North Vietnamese appeared to want communism more than the south wanted the measure of freedom offered. We wanted victory more than the South Vietnamese, and I learned that unless other nations we try to help want freedom more than what their enemies want, we are wasting our time, and more importantly American lives.
My son did three tours in Iraq with the Marine Corps. I believed then and now it was a waste of American blood and capital. Afghanistan was an obvious quagmire. The Iraqis and Afghanis we wanted to help did not want freedom more than their enemies wanted tyranny.
The last 50-plus years have convinced me we should never put American lives at risk for a people who are not willing to risk more than us. I thought this was likely true of Ukraine, but I was wrong.
European NATO members first and then the U.S. need to step in and stop Russia. If Russia succeeds, the next war could be worse, like Xi Jinping and Taiwan.
Neil Berry, Durham
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