VIETNAM VETERANS are outraged at the Biden administration’s capitulation in Afghanistan, which rivals the fall of Saigon almost 50 years ago. The situation there is raising many painful memories of political betrayal during Vietnam, while permanently traumatizing a new generation of soldiers and their families.
Body counts and negative fiscal impacts from both conflicts not only amplify our failed political leadership, but that of America’s most senior general officers, who should be relieved of command or even court-martialed for their demonstrated tactical incompetence.
President Joe Biden continues to blame his predecessor for America’s withdrawal failure from Afghanistan, but troops follow the orders of the present commander-in-chief and his joint chiefs, not the previous president’s. It’s the worst kind of history to see repeated for those coping with lost limbs, PTSD and the loss of comrades and family.
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Survivor guilt of epic proportions will manifest itself as a consequence of America’s longest war—and most humiliating defeat. There were 58,220 Americans dead and 153,000 wounded in Vietnam at today’s equivalent cost of $1 trillion.
Casualties in Afghanistan were 2,448 military deaths with 3,846 contractors killed and over 51,000 wounded, according to Department of Defense statistics. Enemy body counts used to determine success during Vietnam were often misstated by field commanders in an effort to pad their combat resumes for advancement, so total casualty numbers in the Middle East also remain in dispute.
But the estimated costs of financing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are $2 trillion of financed debt. And the estimated interest on that debt is up to $6.5 trillion, according to data from Linda Bilmes of Harvard University’s Kennedy School, in conjunction with the “Cost of War” project from Brown University.
Veterans still suffer debilitating symptoms of the Gulf War Syndrome and effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam. Such maladies remain minimally compensated by the Veterans Administration, which has limited approval for veterans’ disability claims until many are near death.
Biden’s folly was in leaving Kabul and flying Afghans out as thousands of Americans remain surrounded by the Taliban with captured American equipment worth billions of dollars.
Since July, Fort Lee in Virginia has seen Afghan refugees flown into the commonwealth the way thousands of Vietnam refugees came to America after the fall of Saigon. And Gov. Ralph Northam has stated he is willing and anxious to take thousands more.
While the politics of an individual state should have no bearing on foreign policy, Virginia’s upcoming gubernatorial election will offer a stark contrast between the two candidates’ public safety policies.
Over 1 million Vietnamese were kept in resettlement camps and military bases across the U.S. on the taxpayers’ dime until sponsors were found by organizations such as the International Rescue Committee.
Imagine the cost, then and now, if the equivalent number of Afghan refugees arrive here.
Glenn Youngkin, Republican candidate for governor, released a statement telling anguished American veterans, “Our nation owes you and your families a debt it can never repay.” He’s right, but the next Virginia governor and president must try.
Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic nominee, called the refugee situation “tragic” but did not echo Youngkin’s sentiments. McAuliffe also raised veterans’ eyebrows recently when he bailed on a disabilities forum after the first question to fundraise in Las Vegas.
While compassion must be genuinely demonstrated for immigrants and the less fortunate, support for our disabled veterans must not be ignored while focusing on public safety and law enforcement. No doubt the increased wartime anxiety will find more veterans on the wrong side of the law seeking ways to cope with another national betrayal. Fortunately, judges like Ricardo Rigual—who runs the Rappahannock Veterans Docket in Spotsylvania—are prepared for what may be an increase in cases. Then there’s the medical nightmare, in which unvaccinated Afghans, like undocumented Latinos from our southern border, are being flown into Virginia and the nation as the COVID-19 crisis surges again.
Yes, veterans are outraged over failed military leadership,and the political ineptitude by those representing them. Expect their votes forcing change in November.