Of course he was being responsible, doing his duty and obeying orders. Despite his atrocious record at the Naval Academy, he was in fact a good soldier, and a man of proven courage when captured.

But the question, and my point, is, did he learn anything at all from the experience? Did he gain any wisdom that would make him a better Commander-in-Chief 40 years later? His campaign appears to say yes, whereas I would say absolutely not.

Did he come to realize that the war was a huge blunder, as is Iraq, and that it really was pointless and ultimately enormously counterproductive to kill 500 Vietnamese civilians every week? Or would he gladly and enthusiastically do it all over again? Does he likewise think we can ultimately bomb our enemies in Iraq into submission too, just by hitting them harder and harder, longer and longer, for 100 years if necessary?