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Crumbling South Vietnam is lesson for U.S.
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Yoo hoo, Henry "
There's a touch of deja vu to this week's front page headlines:
North Viets Push Farther South, South Viet Slippage Threatens
Saigon, U.S. Begins Airlift. It seems as though it has all happened
before. And it has. But this time one thing is different-the United
States is not likely to bring itself back into the war, and for South
Vietnam that spells doom.
While attention was focused on a toppling Cambodia, the
Communists were hacking away at a crumbling Vietnam a province
at a time. The fall last Sunday of Da Nang, Vietnam's second
largest city, is only the latest in a series of North Vietnamese
victories (courtesy of South Vietnamese ineptness) that will soon
have the Communists checking their road maps for the shortest
route to Saigon.
But the fall of Da Nang is more than just another battle in a war
that never seems to end. What happened there last week is clearly a
product of the past and, unfortunately, a harbinger of the future.
Before its capture, Da Nang's population of 500,000 had
swelled to about two million-mostly refugees seeking the shelter
of a major city and government troops. Neither did them much
good. Military sources say there was a total breakdown of
discipline among the 100,000 troops in Da Nang.
When it became apparent that the city would be captured, ships
and planes were sent in to evacuate refugees, meaning women and
children. They came back filled with South Vietnamese soldiers
who are lambs on the battlefield but real fighters when it comes to
grabbing the last seats on a flight to what are, at least momentarily,'
the back lines.
Thousands of people tried to cram aboard evacuation planes.
Soldiers pushed women and children out of the way. Those who
couldn't get inside the plane tried to ride outside and those who
couldn't ride outside lobbed grenades at the plane in an attempt to
ensure that the sinking ship went down with all the rats aboard.
In addition to raising questions about the logic of Americans
dying for a country whose own soldiers won't die for it, the fall of
Da Nang poses a problem for President Nguyen Van Thieu who
two weeks ago vowed that his troops would retreat no farther than
that city. This week his political opponents are gloating over the
imminent possibility of not having Thieu to kick around anymore.
The fall of Da Nang proves two things. First, President Nixon's
Vietnamization program (training the ragtag South Vietnamese
army to do what American troops could not) was a failure.
One-third of the South Vietnamese army has been destroyed. Just
in the last two weeks the Vietnamese have managed to lose track of
two 13,000-man divisions. One division that didn't vanish into thin
air might as well have-9,000 of the 13,000 men have been killed
or captured.
The new, improved South Vietnamese army has managed to lose
control of 13 of the country's 44 provinces. More than half the
population has been captured or forced to flee their homes.
Second, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning peace treaty negotiated
by Henry Kissinger didn't work, something we knew from the
beginning but were willing to overlook in the name of peace with
honor.
The question left unanswered is what the United States will do
if the fall of Saigon, and thereby South Vietnam, becomes
unavoidable without U.S. military intervention. While President
Ford, as a matter of honor, may be forced to ask Congress to
approve limited military intervention, it seems unlikely that
Congress would approve such a move.
The actions of the South Vietnamese army during the fall of Da
Nang have perhaps taught us a lesson that years of fighting for
them did not.
Wes Albers
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My H
otn Town
Because of a snowstorm, I had the displeasure of
spending Spring Break in My Home Town. What
follows is a brief rundown on some of this wondrous
city's better attractions.
-It is appropriate to start with a description of
Broadway, the hub of the city. Running from north
to south, this main arterial is a collection of discount
stores, fast-food joints and gas stations.
To the motorheads, Broadway is known as the
"main drag", or simply "main." Some of them might
as well call it home, for all the time they spend on it.
One of the more pleasant sights to be found on
this stretch of road is the Stockyard. After a heavy
rain, the runoff from the cattle pens does wonders on
your olfactory system and your car's exterior.
Leaving Broadway, we can pay a visit to a local
"nightclub" and source of "entertainment" for young
people.
A jukebox, foosball table, pool table, six booths,
3.2 beer, and a lot of dolts make up the atmosphere
of this drinking establishment.
According to the advertisement, "you can get
anything you like" at this bar, which actually means
you can get nothing there except a headache and a
sense of wasted time.
page 4
The center of culture for My Home Town resides
in two liberal arts colleges. One is run by the
Benedictine Nuns and the other was established by
the Congregational Church.
If you're looking for an education at these schools,
forget it. About all you'll find are the same people
you went to high school with, unchanged and as dull
as ever.
joe dreesen
a
Sfftymo ct it fill
The local police force and the parents of My Home
Town have finally learned about drugs. This has
created a lot of controversy and problems.
In a style reminiscent of Hitler's Gestapo, the
police have set out to bust anyone and everyone
With their fists and informers, they're doing a pretty
good job of "ridding the streets of drug abusers " or
at least they think so. '
The high school in My Home Town is a lingering
remnant of the 1950s. The words "innovation" and
change" cannot be found in the school's
dictionaries.
What you learn in this high school isn't important
as long as your actions and beliefs are in line with
whatever instructor happens to be teaching you.
Along with handing out sterile and sanitized
versions of history, political science and English, the
instructors insist upon imposing their morals and
beliefs on students.
What a student does after class is everybody's
business. For example, students are still reprimanded
by school authorities if they're caught smoking
cigarettes after school hours. It's never been
explained as to what relevance smoking cigarettes has
to education.
Now that you've had a brief rundown on some of
this city's more interesting places and institutions,
you re' probably wondering about the purpose of this
column. After all who the hell cares about My Home
Town?
Well, the point is, My Home Town is Grand Island,
is Norfolk, is Scottsbluff, is Ogallala, is Ord, is
McCook.is.... .
thursday, april 3, 1975
daily nebraskan
