We don’t know when
U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent’s words when asked recently when the war on Iran would end were chilling. In a 1965 letter to President Lyndon Johnson, Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge had assessed the progress of the Vietnam Conflict as “the light at the end of the tunnel growing brighter.” At this point, it may be a challenge to compare the current War on Iran and the Vietnam conflict, when considering the cost (blood/treasure) and the duration.
The Vietnam conflict saw more than 20,000 deaths in the seven years from 1961 to 1967. In 1968, a year ending with a presidential election, deaths climbed to almost 17,000 (almost 325 per week). Republican candidate Richard Nixon promised to end the war. As President that promise was kept, albeit six years later at a cost of an additional 21,000 lives. At the time of the Fall of Saigon in 1975, Walter Cronkite noted, “We’ve reached the end of a tunnel and there is no light.”
When will this current war end? Bessent’s response: “We don’t know when.” That is the definition of a “forever war.” Take the opportunity to reflect on what your government does in your name and with your (tax) money.
Disregard lessons from the past at your own peril and that of your country. Only the dead have seen the end of war.