Feel free to point out my mistakes.

__________________
Drill offshore now

Hard to point out a mistake of point which has no basis in reality. Tell me how the Vietnam war helped up win the Cold War

The Vietnam war was certainly a misquided war but evil? No, unless you think that trying to save people from becoming slaves to communism is evil. Was the South Vietnamese regime corrupt? In some ways yes, but I have learned the left will always claim a government is corrupt if it doesn't adhere to socialistic principles so we must take those charges with a grain of salt.

All in all, given the outcome and the lack of resolve on the part of congress, we probably should never have become involved in Vietnam. It was, after all, a civil war. However, don't let anyone try to tell you the left was concerned about our troops. They were all supporting the communist North Vietnam and in no way wanted to see success in the South. I know you "deep thinking" "intellectual" leftist will come up with pithy arguments like "Nathan you are the dumbest poster in the world" or "Nathan, you are a jew loving shit stain" However, as someone who lived through the times I clearly remember the arguments and the protest and the marches and the dope smoking maggot infested red diaper babies carrying NVN and Viet Cong flags on college campuses.

__________________
Its better to have fussed and crabbed then never to have fussed at all - Lucy

Don't forget, nathan, the "left" were the ones that got us into that war in the first place. Now, there were extreme elements of the left that had other ideas, but they were whackos. And it wasn't so much Congress losing its resolve as it was the American people. Putting Viet Nam in overly simple terms......we got involved in a fight due to our fears of communism and that fight turned out to be far more difficult than anyone expected. As the years dragged on and the casualty lists grew, people began asking....is this worth it....is Viet Nam (a little country in SE Asia that most Americans couldn't find on a map) worth all of these lives and effort.

__________________
The Lone Ranger of the AWE liberal elitists.....who was that masked man???

And now, I'm the Elitist of liberal Elitists...

Storm, I was as critical of this war as anyone. However, my objection was from the standpoint that we would gain nothing for the blood and treasure we squandered. To me this was always a civil war and while Ho Chi Minh was a communist by name poor Vietnam had been fighting with someone for the last 1000 years and we wouldn't ever stop that. However, I also felt that if we were going to enter the war we should enter the war with both feet. I could also never support those marching and chanting because I simply did not believe the country would be better off communist. Not real sure it is at this point! I will say old wounds take a long time to heal. My wife bought me some shirts a while back. When I saw the label "Made in Vietnam" I threw them out, just like the name Jane American Traitor Bitch Fonda will never be allowed in my home.

__________________
Its better to have fussed and crabbed then never to have fussed at all - Lucy

Actually, it started with Korea and Reagan finished them off with the cold war.
The Soviet Union's Communist Govt. could not compete with the US economy.
The US economy boomed after WWII and peaked when Carter became President.

After years of Soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development, economic growth was at a standstill. Failed attempts at reform, a stagnant economy and war in Afghanistan led to a general feeling of discontent, especially in the Baltic republics and Eastern Europe. Greater political and social freedoms, instituted by the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, created an atmosphere of open criticism of the Moscow regime.

History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

__________________
Drill offshore now