April 30 –Vietnam War anniversary and Trump celebrates 100 days

Responsible Statecraft looks at what the US learned – or didn’t – from the spectacularly misguided US war in Vietnam:

The nation had been ruptured politically and socially over the war, a divide that one could say has never really healed.

Yet ironically, Washington’s proclivity to intervene in other countries’ affairs and to use military power as the first resort has only grown. It would seem the true lessons of Vietnam were left on that iconic rooftop from which the last helicopter left Saigon 50 years ago.

Some say after WWII, U.S. power and intervention has always maintained the global liberal order and that Vietnam was a “mistake” — a one-off. Others say it was a sign that the pretense of America as the "indispensable nation” was folly from the beginning, that the Cold War had blinded us to the realities of the world and the limits of military intervention. [my emphasis] (1)

Andrew Bacevich offers this observation:

The United States has yet to reckon fully with the causes and consequences of the Vietnam War. Why? Because American foreign policy elites have spent the last 50 years engaged in a concerted effort to evade their responsibility for that disaster. Their success in doing so helps explain the dubious record of U.S. policy since. Yesterday's mistakes become the basis for tomorrow's actions.

And he has more to say in this interview: (2)

David Cay Johnston is an actual expert on Donald Trump’s career. Michael Shore interviews him to talk about where 100 days of Trump 2.0 has taken us: (3)

Notes:

(1) Symposium: Was the Vietnam War a mistake or fatal flaw in the system? Responsible Statecraft 04/30/2025. <https://responsiblestatecraft.org/vietnam-war/> (Accessed: 2025-30-04).

(2) How Vietnam Ushered in a New Era of Endless Wars with Andrew Bacevich | Always at War. Quincy Institute YouTube channel 04/30/2025. <https://youtu.be/v0qrnZL7_0w?si=6u85KhBYAtHwxrkD> (Accessed: 2025-30-04).

(3) ‘I Run the Country and the World' Donald Trump believes He’s Invincible, David Cay Johnston. The Mark Thompson Show YouTube channel 04/30/2025. <https://youtu.be/N3JQBjcfAUQ?si=DvjC6ianxmF4Odoa> (Accessed: 2025-30-04).