The subject of today’s program is the Vietnam War, and to shed light on it host Cody Weddle interviews geo-political expert Omar Hasssan Farinas, a professor at the Bolivarian University in Caracas. They begin by talking about the domination of the French and the Japanese before the United States tried to take over Vietnam, killing 3 million people and deforming millions more through chemical and biological warfare, including the use of napalm and herbicides. Hassan then comments on some of the power relations involved and the United States attempt to divide the country despite the cooperation of the Viet Cong guerrilla army in the South and the Vietnamese Army in the North. He explains that a major error of the United States was its failure to understand that it was not engaged in a military conflict, but in a political war. Secondly, the U.S. really believed there was a difference between the guerrillas and the civilians, says the analyst. “For the Vietnamese, there were no civilians. Every one of them was a soldier who had his or her role in fighting an aggressor.” While the officials of the South Vietnamese Army backed by the United States were often afraid or unwilling to fight, the Viet Cong were not only willing to fight, but to die, says the analyst. The United States was fighting an entire nation, although they never recognized the fact. The Viet Cong were able to disappear in the jungle because they had the most complex system of tunnels in human history. Despite their military might, the United States never achieved their political or strategic objectives. And despite the rewrite of history in U. S. schoolbooks, the United States was defeated militarily and politically. “Who united Vietnam? Hanoi. Who won? Hanoi,” concludes professor Hassaan. teleSUR
