60 years after Gulf of Tonkin incident: most US politicians say the war in Việt Nam a mistake

A Vietnamese troop aimed for the enemy’s warplanes in this photo dated August 5, 1964. —VNA/VNS Photo

WASHINGTON DC — Dr Andrew Wells-Dang, a senior expert of Southeast Asia at the US Institute of Peace (USIP), said most US politicians have shared the view that the war in Việt Nam was a mistake.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on Saturday over the Gulf of Tonkin incident 60 years ago and the war raged by the US in the Southeast Asian nation, Wells-Dang recalled the criticism of the war of African-American activist Martin Luther King.

Wells-Dang cited the activist as saying “It demands that we admit that we have been wrong from the beginning of our adventure in Việt Nam, that we have been detrimental to the life of the Vietnamese people.

“In order to atone for our sins and errors in Việt Nam, we should take the initiative in bringing a halt to this tragic war”.

Clearly, the US government’s escalation of the war through the Gulf of Tonkin incident in the early days of August 1964 faced opposition from the international community, which soon signalled the development of anti-war movements in the US and around the world in the following period, the expert said, calling it the biggest lesson of the 1960s.

Wells-Dang said Martin Luther King, a Nobel Peace winner, was right to speak out against the war, explaining that many African-Americans were forced to fight in the war.

He continued citing the activist as saying “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.

The expert added that carrying on the legacy of Martin Luther King who devoted his entire life to the struggle for peace, the USIP wants to apply the lessons of peacebuilding and reconciliation between Việt Nam and the US to other global conflicts. — VNS