It has become clear the war in Vietnam was completely wrong. In some ways it was an American Holocaust, with victims on both sides.

There was an indiscriminate slaughter of men, women and children, there was chemical warfare, there was torture and killing of prisoners. All of it, except as far as I know, the chemical warfare which was strictly US, done by both sides. Just the American dead number 58,000 - the wall with the names of the dead just from my State seems endless.

And for no good reason. Well, one side was fighting for independence for their land, and had been doing so for centuries, against the Chinese, against the American-financed French and then the Americans openly. The other was fighting for ownership, dominance, imperialism. And then pride. Just pride. Only pride, afraid to lose an election. Can you imagine that, continuing, maintaining, financing a slaughter just for an eledtion?

The mangy anti-war protestors were right, the slick, smooth politicians of both parties were wrong. As were the people who agreed with that noisy, unkempt, unruly rabble.

As has been demonstrated, if we don't learn the lessons of the past we are doomed to repeat them. Except this time there's oil.

Kerry's right. And so is everyone, Republican, Democrat, Independent, whoever, who agrees. The rest are repeating history, and I suppose will until we get it right. But not in this lifetime, I'm afraid.

Arf