THE ISSUE: The 35th anniversary marking the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.
***
Vietnam has become a faded memory, and somehow it doesn’t seem real anymore (“Vietnam, 35 Years On,” Editorial, April 30).
It’s become like all wars — forgotten but by a few.
Vietman was a noble cause that had tragic results, and for the first time, American idealism came up empty.
Our soldiers were heroes, but our politicians were bums.
It led to America’s losing its soul, confidence and way until a man riding a white horse gave us a sense of our nobility again.
That man was Ronald Reagan.
Gary Schwartz
Fort Lee
***
While Iran does have the capabilities to fund low-level insurgencies and terrorist cells, it does not even approach the ability to sponsor foreign regular armies or political entities, with the exception of Hezbollah.
To compare its operational capacity to the Soviet Union is laughable.
This comparison is a perfect example of fearmongering and ignorance.
Vietnam succumbed to the tyranny of communism. However, the world was not painted red, and not all the dominoes fell.
De-escalating the war in Iraq and Afghanistan will not, as your editorial implies, lead to a domino effect of nations falling into the grip of theocratic tyranny.
David Morovan
Passaic, NJ
***
Arthur Herman says that the American left learned what happened when we abandoned Vietnam (“Battle for Freedom,” PostOpinion, April 30).
Perhaps, but it never took an ounce of responsibility for the ensuing carnage, even as it celebrates its political “victory.”
Despite all its posturing about being a “champion of the oppressed,” the left’s real agenda is far better expressed by the phrase “Freedom for me but not for thee.”
A. Ahlert
Boca Raton, Fla.