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Boris Godunov
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Portland, OR
Aug 2001 time: 00:23
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quote: Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
Are you really this stupid? You don't put a person in prison for life for a misdemeanor or even a minor felony. You save the worst punishment for the worst crimes. The same concept applies to human rights violations. You don't invade a country unless the violations are particularly heinous. |
So, what heinous human rights violations were going on in Vietnam that warranted our invasion, that were worse than things going on elsewhere at the time?
But we don't even have to go as far as invading. What about just condemning? Look at Saudi Arabia. Absolutely one of the worst human rights records imaginable. A dictatorship wherein the citizens are subjected to everything Libya does and worse. A government where the prince has openly stated the desire for the destruction of the Jewish people. And yet, not only are we not invading to right their wrongs, we're ALLIED with them! We're turning our heads because...it's in our national self interest. Oil matters more than humanity, it seems. So don't feed me the bullshit propaganda that the U.S. government cares about defending human rights around the world, as reality just doesn't support that.
quote: Even if the crimes are heinous, you have to actually be able to build support for the intervention and carry it out. |
Right, we had that international coalition in Vietnam. Oops, no we didn't. And aren't we the ones threatening to invade Iraq with or without international support?
And what other nations were behind us in our meddling in South America, Iran, etc? How about that Spanish-American war?
quote: Vietnam was a struggle to stop communism. I never said that it was heroic. Most struggles aren't. |
Government line. Vietnam was fought as a continuation of Imperialist policies and for military and economic interests. It was more a fight for American prestige than to save anyone from communism. If we were so interested in protecting the people of Vietnam, why did we drop three times more explosives on the country than we dropped in all of WWII, the a-bombs included?
Last edited by Boris Godunov on 16-10-2002 at 18:51
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Dr Strangelove
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quote: Originally posted by Boris Godunov
So, what heinous human rights violations were going on in Vietnam that warranted our invasion, that were worse than things going on elsewhere at the time?
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It is a well established fact that long before the Us got involved in Vietnam the Viet Cong used terror tactics throughout the South. Anyone who failed in the least to give them what ever they wanted - food, shelter, support, troops, women, etc. was executed without a second's thought. Ever heard of the Hmong? They were a hill tribe that had been nearly rendered extinct by the VC before the US got there. The hills weren't the only place where the VC applied similar "persuasion" tactics.
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Boris Godunov
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Portland, OR
Aug 2001 time: 00:23
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quote: Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
It is a well established fact that long before the Us got involved in Vietnam the Viet Cong used terror tactics throughout the South. Anyone who failed in the least to give them what ever they wanted - food, shelter, support, troops, women, etc. was executed without a second's thought. Ever heard of the Hmong? They were a hill tribe that had been nearly rendered extinct by the VC before the US got there. The hills weren't the only place where the VC applied similar "persuasion" tactics. |
That doesn't answer my question, really, if you read the last phrase. I certainly wouldn't categorize the Vietcong as nice people. What I am asking is what it was that made this a more pressing concern than the other human rights abuses going on around the world at the time.
It's been convenient that we can use defending human rights as a justification for imperialism. Americans are good, compassionate people. Unfortunately, that makes it easy for cynical governments to manipulate public sentiment in favor of wars by appealing to that compassion, although the real reasons are far more base.
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Lars-E
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quote: I'd rather be in an American prison, than any other countys'. |
Why would you do that to yourself?
I know a guy who spent 3 days in a Californian jail. He described it as 'hell'. A jail in Scandinavia OTOH is almost hotel standard.
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