We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young

I watched that movie last night. And read the book a few years ago. History has repeated itself - not a perfect repeat, but a close one.

The Vietnam War was lost because the President, Sec. of Defense and top generals had a failed strategy and refused to do what it would take to win. The movie, We Were Soldiers, brings that out through the story of the initial major battle of the War in Vietnam in the Ia Drang valley. Inadequate intelligence, inadequate forces on the ground, sanctuaries for the enemy, a war of attrition ... well, that's ... history.

In Iraq we have ... inadequate intelligence, inadequate forces on the ground, sanctuaries for the enemy, a war of attrition ... that's NOW. And a refusal to do what it takes to win.

There's a memorial in Washington for the War in Vietnam that I have always thought very appropriate - every solder killed is named. And it's right in the center of DC so every politician and leader there is forced to see the personal cost of their bad leadership and mistakes.

So if there is every a memorial to the servicemen and servicewomen lost in Iraq and Afghanistan, perhaps a similar memorial is appropriate? To memorialize the human cost of stupid and pusillanimous leadership, yes?

PS: the combat correspondent in the movie was a real person - Joe Galloway, perhaps the best combat correspondent of modern times. You can see his writings on www. military.com - here's a link to a appropriate column (or Google "Vietnam Galloway"): http://www.military.com/Opinions/0,,Galloway_072805,00.html

PPS: the book, We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young was written by the actual Colonel Hal Moore and Joe Galloway. Hal Moore later became a Lt. Gen and retired from the Army in 1977.