Viet Nam Mistakes

President Obama is mulling over whether we should send additional troops to Afghanistan , or whether to continue as we are , or , pull out completely. As a member of the Viet Nam generation I remember the politics of that era quite clearly , both the Johnson and Nixon administration . To briefly review that era the war took place for the United States from 1961 through 1975 , the longest conflict in our history. We suffered thousands of causalities and deaths during that conflict , and we withdrew under the shadow of defeat. The pressure of the war caused Johnson not to seek re-election in 1968 , and protesters during the Dems. convention all but assured Nixon a victory. As an amateur student of history I have my own observations of this tumultuous time in our history. Both Johnson and Nixon tried to govern through the polls instead of what they personally believed what was the good of the nation , and the result was a military disaster that we still feel to this very day. If there is a lesson to be learned from this it must be that the one in power must put popularity aside and seek the counsel of those who are the most intimately involved in the conflict. Field generals , battalion commanders , company commanders , and foot soldiers are your best eyes in this unique situation. The president must not allow political , or special interest groups to influence his decision on matters of national security.The entertainment industry , environmentalist groups , and protesters have limited knowledge of what is actually happening on the ground , thus they have a limited perspective on what they know. During the Viet Nam war I was privileged to knowledge that the general public still doesn't know about to this very day . Perhaps the president will respond to public pressure and do the popular thing , I hope not,this is his chance to respond as a man who cares more about whats right than whats popular . Mr. Obama I urge you , support our troops and forget about the polls , America will benefit , and that is what matters!