How to Turn a Nightmare into a Fairy Tale 40 Years Later, Will the End Games in Iraq and Afghanistan Follow the Vietnam Playbook?

How to Turn a Nightmare into a Fairy Tale
40 Years Later, Will the End Games in Iraq and Afghanistan Follow the Vietnam Playbook?
By Christian Appy
If our wars in the Greater Middle East ever end, it’s a pretty safe bet that they will end badly -- and it won't be the first time. The “fall of Saigon” in 1975 was the quintessential bitter end to a war. Oddly enough, however, we’ve since found ways to reimagine that denouement which miraculously transformed a failed and brutal war of American aggression into a tragic humanitarian rescue mission. Our most popular Vietnam end-stories bury the long, ghastly history that preceded the “fall,” while managing to absolve us of our primary responsibility for creating the disaster. Think of them as silver-lining tributes to good intentions and last-ditch heroism that may come in handy in the years ahead.
Click here to read more of this dispatch.http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175987/tomgram%3A_christian_appy%2C_from_the_fall_of_saigon_to_our_fallen_empire/#more