Learning about Vietnam

It appears that we are getting a national confrontation about supporting the Iraqi war; the President versus the main components of the Democratic Party.

It is my guess that part of this confrontation will involve a revision of the popular history of the Vietnam War with the Republican Party demonstrating that the Democrats lost the Vietnam War and ushered in a period of thirty years of American cowardice.

The revision of history will explain what happened in 1974.  President Richard Nixon ended the Vietnam War with a truce in March of 1973 that came after the North Vietnamese were defeated in their Tet Offensive. The truce specified that any resumption of fighting by the North would be met with American support of the South.

A majority anti-war Democratic congress had been elected in 1972. The Congress impeached Nixon in the summer of 1973.  He was replaced with Gerald Ford. Starting in December of 1973 the North began probing the American resolve to support the South.  Gerald Ford tried to get Congressional support for funding and arming the South. He failed.  The North saw the failure of America and proceeded with a full on assault that easily succeeded.  The North won. 

America spent the next thirty years loosing battle after battle, or in the case of the first Iraqi invasion, accepting a quick cease-fire with Saddam left in place.

That is the history, I expect we will begin learning, as the Republicans fight the intellectual war to paint the Democrats as the party of cowardice.

Footnote: Ironically, the Communist North that fought so hard for Commnism is rapidly becoming a market-driven society.