I just saw the movie "Path to War" (HBO)

[bluestateguy]

I rented this tonight. It's about the Johnson Administration's rush to war in Vietnam. It is downright scary that so much of the terminology and pattern mirrors the current war in Iraq. We need to "pacify" the enemy and "win the hearts and minds" of the locals. We can't "cut and run" when the enemy is advancing lest we allow the communists (terrorists) to advance all over the world. "We're winning", but we're really losing. Scary stuff. There are a lot of paralells to 2004 in Iraq along with Vietnam in 1965.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[izzie]

2. Question?

Did not Ike first put in special army people to help train people then Kennedy added more? I swear this goes back to the Eur, powers leaving and Ike did that when the trouble first started.

[LTR]

3. Very good movie

It looked like they had LBJ down well. The actor didn't look a lot like him, but he was very convincing.

There are some similarities. The main difference is, despite his flaws, LBJ, unlike Bush, was a real hard-ass that also a very powerful leader. I've done some reading on him, since I do find LBJ to be very fascinating, despite his flaws.

He was a tough, skillful politician. A towering figure that used physical intimidation to get his way (leaning into people closely when he talked, colorful language, etc.). He was also pretty intelligent. He did seem to fall into the BS that his subordinates were feeding him.

And, unlike Bush, he actually had the stones to throw in the towel on his political career when Vietnam started to escalate and he developed reservations about it.

Vietnam killed LBJ's presidency. And too bad, because few other presidents went as far as he did toward eliminating poverty and racism through the programs of the "Great Society".

LBJ is an intriguing individual, particularly when you view his flaws that were his inevitable undoing. If he were a neocon Repug, he would be the scariest man alive. Sure glad he was on our side.