Amnesia ta Amurka

By Thomas A. Bass, Agusta 4, 2017, MekongReview.

EBabu matukar kuskuren sabon saiti na shirin PBS guda goma na Vietnam War ya bayyana a farkon minti biyar. Wani murya daga babu inda yake game da yakin da aka fara "farawa cikin bangaskiya mai kyau" cewa ko da yaushe ya gudu daga rami kuma ya kashe miliyoyin mutane. Mun ga wata wuta da wani soja mai mutuwa a cikin jikin jakar da aka yi nasara a cikin wani jirgin sama, kamar yadda rotor ke tsutsa, tsutsa, tsutsa, kamar zane daga Apocalypse Yanzu. Sa'an nan kuma muka yanke wa jana'izar a kan Main Street da akwati da aka rufe a Stars da Stripes, wanda ya ninka, yayin da kyamarar ta fara fitowa, zuwa cikin ƙananan daruruwan flags, suna nunawa kamar haɗari ga masu jin dadi wanda zai iya yin tunani cewa wannan fim din ba shi da ƙaunar kasa.

Duk abin da ya dace tare da rubutun shirye-shiryen ya bayyana a cikin 'yan mintoci na gaba, yayin da fim ya sake dawowa (a halin yanzu yana gudana bayanan sauye-sauyen baya) a cikin kundin tarihin kundin tarihi da kuma kiɗa daga lokaci kuma ya gabatar da muryoyin - mafi yawa daga cikinsu Vietnamese - wanda zai faɗi wannan tarihin. Fim tana dogara ne da marubuta da mawaƙa, ciki har da Amirkawa Tim O'Brien da Karl Marlantes da mawallafan Vietnamese Le Minh Khue, da Bao Ninh, wanda Mutuwar War ya zama ɗaya daga cikin manyan litattafai game da Vietnam ko wani yaki.

Har ila yau, tarihin zane-zane, labarin da aka kwatanta da shi, abubuwan da aka tanadar da fansa da kuma gagarumar kokarin "warkarwa" maimakon gaskiyar su ne zane-zane na fim wanda muka zo daga Ken Burns da Lynn Novick ta hanyar fina-finai game da yakin basasa , wasan baseball, jazz da sauran jigogi a tarihin Amurka. Burns ya kasance a cikin wannan ƙasa har tsawon shekaru arba'in, tun lokacin da ya yi fim na farko a kan Brooklyn Bridge a 1981, kuma Novick ya kasance a gefensa tun daga 1990, lokacin da ya hayar da ita a matsayin mai tarihin don tabbatar da iznin hoto. Yakin Yakin kuma ta tabbatar da wanda ba zai iya ba da taimako ba.

A cikin tambayoyin su, Burns yana magana mafi yawa, yayin da Yale-ilmantarwa, tsohon masanin kimiyyar Smithsonian ya rataye baya. Novick yana samun haɗin kuɗin haɗin gwiwar a cikin kyauta a fina-finan su, amma yawancin mutane suna magana da su kamar yadda Ken Burns ya samar. (Bayan haka, shi ne wanda yake da "tasiri" wanda ake kira bayansa: fasaha na gyara fim, yanzu an daidaita shi kamar maɓallin "Ken Burns", wanda ya sa mutum ya yi fuska a kan hotunan har yanzu.) Mutum yayi mamakin abin da tashin hankali yake tsakanin Novick kuma yana konewa: mai kula da jarrabawa da kuma dan wasan kwaikwayo.

Dichotomy tsakanin tarihin da wasan kwaikwayon ya ƙunshi dukkanin sassa goma na shirin PBS, wanda ya fara tare da mulkin mallaka na Vietnam na Vietnam a 1858 kuma ya ƙare tare da lalacewar Saigon a 1975. Yayin da fim ya yanke daga rashin lafiya na Novickian zuwa kusacin Burnsian, wani lokaci yana jin kamar idan mutane biyu suka shirya zane-zane guda biyu. Zamu iya kallon hotunan tarihin daga 1940s na Ho Chi Minh da ke maraba da jami'an leken asiri na Amurka waɗanda suka zo don su mayar da shi a dutsensa, idan ba zato ba tsammani fim ya canza daga baki da fari zuwa launi kuma muna kallon wani tsohon dan Amurka na magana akan Yawancin halin da ake ciki a Viet Nam da duhu, wanda ya sa shi barci da hasken rana, kamar yaransa. Ko da kafin mu isa Ho Chi Minh da kuma shan kashi na Faransanci a Dien Bien Phu a 1954, muna kallon wani jirgin Amurka wanda ya nuna cewa zai iya zuwa kasar Amurka a cikin 1972, inda ya ce yana da wuya fiye da fada da Viet Cong.

Ta biyu na biyu, "Riding the Tiger" (1961-1963), muna zuwa cikin zurfin ƙasa na Burns. An yi yakin basasa a matsayin yakin basasa, tare da Amurka ta kare gwamnatin demokradiyya ta zaba a kudanci da 'yan kwaminisanci da ke mamaye arewa. 'Yan matan Amurka suna fada da abokin gaba marar laifi wanda Burns yake nunawa a matsayin mai jan jawo a kan taswirar kudu maso gabashin Asia da kuma sauran duniya.

Hotunan tarihi a cikin Jigo daya, "Dejà Vu" (1858-1961), wanda ke jayayya da wannan ra'ayi game da yaki, ana watsi da shi ko kuskure. Kudancin Vietnam bai kasance wata ƙasa mai zaman kanta ba. Daga 1862 zuwa 1949, shi ne mallaka na Faransa na Cochinchina, ɗaya daga cikin yankuna biyar a Indochina na Indiya (sauran dai Tonkin, Annam, Cambodia da Laos). Kaddamar da sojojin Faransa a cikin kudancin Vietnam bayan 1954, wanda shine lokacin da dakarun Amurka da kuma CIA wakili Edward Lansdale suka fara aiki don tayar da wannan tsohuwar mulkin zuwa kasa. {Asar Amirka ta nada Ngo Dinh Diem, a matsayin shugaban mulkin mallaka, na Vietnam, wanda ya taimaka masa, wajen kawar da abokan gabansa, da kuma gudanar da za ~ en, wanda Diem ya yi, tare da 98.2, na 100, na kuri'un da aka kada.

Tya kasance mahimman lokaci a aikin Lansdale shi ne watanni mai tsawo na Kundin Yankuna, wanda ya fara a watan Afrilu 1955. (Ba a ambaci yakin ba a cikin fina-finai, kuma ba Lansdale aka gano a cikin wani hoton da yake zaune a kusa da Diem.) An tsara wani katakon labaran da ya umarci jakadan Amurka don kawar da Diem. (Wani irin wannan yanayi, wanda aka aiko da shekaru goma, daga bisani ya mutu, mutuwar Diem.) Da maraice kafin fadar ta fita, Diem ya fara kai hare-haren ta'addanci a kan bin Bin Xuyen wanda ke da mambobin 2,500 a ƙarƙashin umurninsa. . Lokacin da yaƙin ya wuce, an yi tazarar kilomita bakwai daga Saigon kuma 20,000 sun bar gida.

Faransa ta biya kuɗin mulkin mallaka a ƙasar Asiya ta hanyar sayar da opium (wata hujja ta fita daga fim din). Sun kori dukiyar da aka samu daga masu fashin teku na Bay Vien, wadanda ke da lasisi don gudanar da 'yan sanda na' yan sanda da 'yan tawayen Saigon da caca. Rikicin Diem a kan Binh Xuyen ya kai farmaki kan Faransanci. Wani sanarwa da CIA ya sanar cewa an gama Faransanci a kudu maso gabashin Asia. {Asar Amirka ta biya ku] a] en mulkin mallaka, har ma ta biya nauyin 80, amma bayan da Faransanci ya ci nasara a Dien Bien Phu, lokaci ya yi wa masu hasara su fita daga garin.

Da zarar an rinjaye 'yan fashi na kogi kuma sauran kungiyoyi masu adawa kamar Hoa Hao da Cao Dai sun ketare cin hanci da cin hanci da rashawa CIA, Diem da Lansdale sun fara yin Vietnam kyauta. By 23 Oktoba 1955, Diem yana ikirarin nasararsa. Bayan kwana uku ya sanar da halittar Jamhuriyar Vietnam, wanda aka fi sani da South Vietnam. Ya dakatar da za ~ en da ake nufi da ha] a kan arewa da kudancin Vietnam - za ~ u ~~ ukan da Shugaba Eisenhower da kowa da kowa suka san cewa, Ho Chi Minh zai ci nasara, kuma ya fara gina tsarin 'yan sandan da ya tsira shekaru ashirin, kafin ya durƙushe a cikin turbaya na karshe. jirgin sama ya sauka daga Ofishin Jakadancin Amirka.

Lansdale wani mutum ne na talla. Ya yi aiki a kan lamarin Strauss a lokacin da ya fara sayar da jeans a cikin ƙasa. Ya san yadda za a sayar da shunan blue. Ya san yadda za a sayar da yakin. Duk wanda yake da masaniya game da tarihin Vietnam da kuma gwagwarmaya ta tsawo da mulkin mallaka na Faransa zai iya ganin abin da ke gudana. "Matsalar ta ƙoƙarin rufe wani abu a kowace rana a matsayin labarai lokacin da ainihin ainihin mabuɗin shi ne cewa dukkanin abin da ya saba da yaki na Indo-China na Faransa, wanda shine tarihin," inji tsohon New York Times labaru David Halberstam. "Don haka dole ne ka sami layi na uku a kowane labarin wanda ya kamata ya ce, 'Dukkan wannan shit ne kuma babu wani abu da wannan yake nufi saboda mun kasance a cikin matakai guda kamar Faransanci kuma mun kasance fursunoni na kwarewarsu.'"

Ko da harshen harshen Indochina na biyu an ƙulla shi daga Faransanci, wanda yayi maganar "haske a ƙarshen rami" da kuma jaunissement (yellowing) sojojin su, wanda Amurka ta kira Vietnamanci. Faransa ta bar man fetur na gelatinised, napalm, a Vietnam la sale war, "mummunan yakin", wanda {asar Amirka ta yi wa magunguna da Agent Orange da sauran makamai masu guba.

Idan wadannan sanannun sun san sanannun jami'an gwamnati da 'yan jarida, sun san kowa bayan Daniel Ellsberg ya saki Takardun Pentagon in 1971. Kundin litattafai na asirin sirri sun nuna gaskiyar gwamnatin Amurka daga Truman da Eisenhower zuwa Kennedy da Johnson. A Takardun Pentagon bayyana yadda aka yaudare al'ummar Amurka don taimakawa Faransa wajen yunkurin sacewa Vietnam. Sun san abubuwan da suka faru na Lansdale da kuma laifin da Amurka ta dauka don yin watsi da za ~ u ~~ ukan da ake nufi da sake saduwa da {asar Vietnam. Sun bayyana yakin neman 'yancin kai wanda Amurka ba ta taba samun damar samun nasara ba, har ma da rabi miliyoyin sojoji a ƙasa. An hayar da kayan aikin ne don dauke da Sin da wasa na kajin duniya game da Rasha. "Dole ne mu lura cewa Kudancin Vietnam (ba kamar sauran ƙasashe a kudu maso gabashin Asiya) ya zama tushen halittar Amurka", in ji Leslie Gelb wanda ya jagoranci aikin, a cikin Takardun Pentagon taƙaitaccen bayani. "Gidan Vietnam ya kasance a kan kaya, ba wata ƙasa ba," in ji Gelb Burns da Novick.

Msama da mutane tamanin da aka yi hira da masu fim din a cikin shekaru goma da suka tara kayan War ta Vietnam, amma ɗaya daga cikin ban mamaki shi ne Daniel Ellsberg. Ellsberg, tsohon shugaban kungiyar Marine Corps, wani jarumi ne a lokacin da yake aiki a Lansdale a Vietnam daga 1965 zuwa 1967. Amma yayin yakin da aka yi, Ellsberg ya ji tsoron cewa Nixon zai yi kokarin kawo karshen rikici da makaman nukiliya (Faransanci ya riga ya tambayi Eisenhower ta jefa bom a Vietnam), sai ya fadi zuwa wancan gefe.

Ellsberg a yau shi ne mai razanar sukar manufofin nukiliyar Amurka da kuma matakan soja daga Vietnam zuwa Iraq. Babu shi daga fim din, sai dai a cikin tarihin tarihin, ya tabbatar da takardun shaidarsa. Bankin Bankin Amurka, David Koch da wasu masu tallafawa kamfanin, asusun ya dogara da tsohuwar magoya bayansa, Jami'an CIA da jami'an gwamnati, wadanda ba a bayyana su ta hanyar matsayi ba, amma kawai da sunayensu da abubuwan da ba a san su ba kamar "shawara" ko "Sojoji na musamman". Jerin jerin sun hada da:

• Lewis Sorley, wani digiri na uku na West Point wanda ya yi imanin cewa, Amurka ta lashe yaki a 1971 sannan ta watsar da nasara ta hanyar "cin amana" da abokansa a kudu (duk da cewa an kawo su da dala biliyan 6 na makamai na Amurka sun durkushe ga inganta Arewacin Vietnam a 1975).

• Rufus Phillips, daya daga cikin 'yan wasan kwaikwayo na' 'black' '' na Lansdale wadanda suka yi aiki na shekaru masu yawa a cikin ayyukan kwakwalwa da kuma rikici.

• Donald Gregg, mai gudanarwa na ƙaddamar da makamai masu amfani da makaman nukiliya na Iran da kuma mai bada shawara na CIA ga shirin Phoenix da sauran kungiyoyin kisan gilla.

• John Negroponte, tsohon darektan kula da harkokin kasa da kuma jakadan kasa da kasa da aka yi amfani da su domin ayyukan da ba a san ba.

• Sam Wilson, dakarun Amurka da kuma Lansdale karege wanda ya sanya kalmar "rikici".

• Stuart Herrington, wani jami'in soja na Amurka wanda aka sani da "masaniyar tambayoyi", yana fitowa daga Vietnam zuwa Abu Ghraib.

• Robert Rheault, wanda ya kasance misali ga Kanar Kurtz, mai jarrabawa a cikin Apocalypse Yanzu. Rheault shi ne hafsan hafsoshin soji a Vietnam, kafin ya tilasta yin murabus lokacin da aka zarge shi tare da biyar daga cikin mutanensa da kisan kai da makirci. Rahotanni na Green sun kashe daya daga cikin ma'aikatan Vietnamese, wanda ake zargi da daukar su ne, kuma ya zubar da jikinsa a cikin teku.

Ranar da Nixon ta karbi dakarun zuwa zargin laifuka na Rheault shine ranar da Daniel Ellsberg ya yanke shawarar saki takardun Pentagon. "Ina tsammanin: Ba zan kasance wani ɓangare na wannan na'ura mai kwance ba, wannan murfin, wannan kisan kai, babu kuma" ya rubuta Ellsberg a Asirin: Memoir na Vietnam da takardun Pentagon. "Yana da tsarin da ke kwance ta atomatik, a kowane mataki, daga ƙasa zuwa saman - daga maciji zuwa kwamandan shugaban - don ɓoye kisan kai." Inji Green Beret, ya ce Ellsberg, wani sashi ne "na irin tsarin da aka yi a Vietnam , a kan sikelin mafi girma, ci gaba har zuwa na uku na karni ".

Burns da Novick sun dogara ga wani mutum - hakikanin gaskiya, ta tafi tare da su a kan kullun da suka gabatar don fim din - wanda aka gano a cikin littafi mai suna "Duong Van Mai, Hanoi" sannan kuma daga bisani "Duong Van Mai, Saigon". Wannan shine sunan yarinyar Duong Van Mai Elliott, wanda ya yi aure tsawon shekaru hamsin da uku ga David Elliott, tsohon abokin bincike na RAND a Vietnam da farfesa a kimiyyar siyasa a Kwalejin Pomona dake California. Tun da zan je makaranta a Jami'ar Georgetown a farkon 1960s, Mai Elliott ya rayu a yanzu a Amurka fiye da Vietnam.

Elliott, wani tsohon ma'aikacin RAND ne, 'yar wani tsohon jami'in gwamnati a gwamnatin mulkin mallaka na Faransa. Bayan cin nasarar Faransanci a farkon Indochina War, iyalinta sun tashi daga Hanoi zuwa Saigon, sai dai 'yar'uwar Elliott, wadda ta shiga Viet Minh a arewa. Wannan ya ba Elliott tabbacin cewa - kamar yadda ta ke yi akai-akai a cikin bayyanar jama'a - cewa Vietnam ita ce "yakin basasa". Yakin ya rabu da iyalansu kamar su, amma mayakan anti-colonialist da aka yi garkuwa da masu adawa da mulkin mallaka ba su zama yakin basasa ba. Babu wanda ya ke magana akan War Indochina na farko a matsayin yakin basasa. Ya kasance gwagwarmaya ne na mulkin mallaka wanda ya shafe shi a cikin maimaitawa, sai dai cewa a wannan lokaci Lansdale da Diem sun halicci facsimile na kasa. Amirkawa suna son taimaka wa Faransa sake kafa mulkin mulkin mallaka a Asiya zai iya jin daɗin kare kaya a cikin yakin basasa. Elliott, wanda ya dace da wannan yakin, ya ƙunshi uwargidan 'yar damuwa wadda sojojin Amurka ke ƙoƙarin tserewa daga ta'addanci.

Oan cire Lansdale daga tarihin War War ta Vietnam, za mu shiga kallon kallo goma sha takwas na mummunan lalacewa, tare da rahotannin kai tsaye da zazzagewa, da farko a matsayin sauti, sa'an nan kuma ya zama sakonni da yawa kuma daga bisani a cikin tambayoyin da aka yi. Wadannan suna kewaye da tarihin tarihi wanda ya fito daga farko Indochina War a cikin Na biyu kuma sannan ya mayar da hankali akan fadace-fadacen da aka yi a Ap Bac da Khe Sanh, Tet Offensive, yaƙin neman boma-bamai a kan Arewacin Vietnam, da saki Amurka POWs da kuma helikopta na karshe ya tashi daga rufin Ofishin Jakadancin Amirka (wanda shine ainihin rufin gidan CIA mai lafiya a 22 Ly Tu Trong Street). A ƙarshen fim - wanda yake da damuwa da rikice-rikice, kamar yaki kanta - fiye da sojojin Amurka na 58,000, kashi daya cikin hudu na miliyoyin sojojin kasar Vietnam na Vietnam, miliyoyin Viet Cong da sojojin Arewacin Vietnam da 2 miliyan fararen hula (musamman a kudu ), ba tare da ambaton dubban dubbai a Laos da Cambodia ba, sun mutu.

An kafa hotunan Vietnam a cikin abubuwan da suka faru a Amurka a lokacin shugabannin shida da suka ci gaba da wannan rikici (farawa da Harry Truman a ƙarshen yakin duniya na biyu). Kamara ta fito ne ta hanyar kisan gillar John Kennedy da Robert Kennedy da kuma Martin Luther King, 'yan sanda a tarurrukan Chicago Democrat a 1968 da kuma zanga-zangar zanga-zangar zanga zanga, ciki har da wanda aka harbe dalibai hudu a Jami'ar Kent State. Fim ya hada da tattaunawa da aka rufe game da Nixon da Kissinger suna kulla makircinsu. ("Blow safe and get it", Nixon ya ce game da hujjojin shaida a Cibiyar Brookings). Yana nuna Walter Cronkite rashin bangaskiya ga aikin Vietnam da Ruguwa na Watergate da kuma aikin Nixon da kuma gwagwarmaya akan ginin Maya Lin na Vietnam Veterans Memorial ("kunya na kunya" wanda ya zama mai mai da hankali wuri na tuna).

Ga mutane da yawa, fim zai tunatar da mu abin da muka sani. Ga wasu, zai zama gabatarwa ga shekaru ashirin na girman kai na Amurka da kuma rushewa. Mutane za su yi mamakin fahimtar cin amana na Nixon ta hanyar sabunta tattaunawar zaman lafiya na Lyndon Johnson a 1968, domin bunkasa nasa damar zaben. Wannan ba shine lokaci kawai ba a cikin wannan takardun shaida cewa yaudarar duniya ta tashar yanar gizo ta sake fitowa da abubuwan da ke faruwa yanzu. Masu kallo zasu iya mamakin sanin cewa an yi nasarar yaki da Ap Bac a 1963, babbar nasara ga sojojin sojan Jamhuriyar Vietnam da magoya bayanta na Amurka, saboda abokan gaba, bayan sun kashe sojoji ARVN tamanin da masu ba da shawarar Amurka guda uku , sun sake komawa cikin karkara. Sai dai a cikin matakan da aka yi wa sojojin Amurka na iya samun nasara, za a iya kiran wani nasara, amma sau da yawa, kowace shekara, Amurka za ta "lashe" kowace yaƙin da ya yi yaƙi da dutse mara amfani da shinkafa. bindigogi da aka kama yayin da abokan gaba suka kashe gawawwakin su, suka tarwatse kuma suka kai farmaki a wani wuri.

Tare da 'yan jarida suna bayar da rahoto game da nasara da nasarar Pentagon,' yan kasuwa, wanda yanzu ya zama mummunar haɓaka, ya fara bayyana, tare da hare-hare a kan manema labaru domin rashin aminci da kuma "rasa" yakin. Rahotanni game da "labarin karya" da 'yan jarida a matsayin "abokan gaba na mutane" sun fi dacewa da zamantakewar zamantakewa da za a iya komawa zuwa War Vietnam. A lokacin da Morley Safer ya rubuta marines suna tayar da gidajen da aka gina a kauyen Cam Ne a 1965, sunan Safer ya yi baƙi saboda zargin da ya baiwa Marines da masu zabar Zippo. Rashin ilimin, yakin basira, ayyukan kwalliya, labarun labarai, yada labarai da kuma ma'aikatun ma'aikata duk da haka suna da alamun rayuwa daga Vietnam.

Mafi kyawun labari gambit na fim shine dogara ga marubuta da mawaƙa, siffofin mutum biyu masu suna Bao Ninh (wanda shi ne ainihin sunan Hoang Au Phuong), tsohon dan jarida wanda ya koma gidan bayan shekaru shida yana fadawa hanyar Ho Chi Minh zuwa rubuta Ƙaunawar Yaƙin, da kuma tsohon marine Tim O'Brien, wanda ya dawo daga yaki ya rubuta Abin da suka dauki da kuma Tafiya bayan Cacciato. Fim ɗin ya ƙare tare da littafin O'Brien game da sojoji dauke da tunanin daga Vietnam, sannan kuma wa] annan ku] a] en, ya ba mu cikakken sunan Mai Elliott da sauran mutanen.

Wannan shi ne lokacin da na sake fara wasa, yana motsawa ta hanyar daya daga cikin jigo daya, ban yi mamakin yadda aka tuna da su ba, amma ta yaya aka bar ko manta. Yawancin labarai masu kyau sunyi game da War Vietnam, da Canadians, Faransanci da sauran Turai. 'Yan jaridun Amirka, Stanley Karnow da Drew Pearson, sun yi wa] ansu tarurruka, da gabatar da yakin a shirye-shiryen TV. Amma irincin da Amurka ta manta da darussan Vietnam, suna binne su a karkashin ƙazantattun kishin kasa da kuma yin watsi da tarihin tarihin tarihin tarihin tarihin tarihin tarihi.

Me yasa, alal misali, tambayoyin fina-finai ne na harbe su kamar yadda suke kusa da su? Idan kamarar ta janye baya, zamu ga cewa tsohon Sanata Max Cleland ba shi da kafafu - ya rasa su zuwa "wuta mara kyau" a Khe Sanh. Kuma idan idan Bao Ninh da Tim O'Brien an yarda su hadu da juna? Tunanin su zai kawo mawuyacin hali na yakin basasa a yanzu. Kuma a maimakon bincikensa na "ƙulle" da kuma warkarwa na warkarwa, to, idan fim din ya tunatar da mu cewa sojojin Amurka na aiki a 137 na ƙasashen 194 na duniya, ko 70 kashi dari na duniya?

Kamar yawancin konewa da na Novick, wannan ya zo tare da karamin abokin, War na Vietnam: Tarihi mai mahimmanci, wanda aka saki a lokaci guda a matsayin jerin PBS. Written by Burns da halayensa na tsawon lokaci, Geoffrey C Ward, littafin - ƙananan nauyin da yake kimanin kusan kilo biyu - yana daukar nauyin kima kamar fim din. Yana canjawa daga tarihin tarihi zuwa tarihin tarihin fim, kuma yana nuna yawancin hotunan da suka sanya Vietnam ta zama misali na daukar hoto. Shahararren shahararrun sun hada da Malcolm Brown; Hoton Larry Burrows na tsuntsaye mai raunuka da ke kaiwa zuwa ga kyaftin ya mutu; Hoton Nick Ut ta Kim Phuc yana tafiya tsirara a hanya tare da napalm ta cinye jikinta; Hoton Eddie Adams na Babban Birnin Nguyen Ngoc, na harbe-harben VC, a kai; da hoton Hugh Van Es na hotunan hawa hawa mai tsauri a cikin jirgin Chip din na CIA wanda ya tashi daga Saigon.

Ra'ayin hangen nesa na Burns a wasu hanyoyi yana aiki mafi kyau a cikin littafin fiye da fim din. Littafin yana da dakin shiga daki-daki. Yana bayar da karin tarihin yayin da lokaci guda yake gabatar da tunani mai zurfi daga Bao Ninh, mai magana da yaƙin mata Jurate Kazickas, da sauransu. Edward Lansdale da yakin ƙungiyoyi sun bayyana a cikin littafi, amma ba fim ɗin ba, tare da cikakkun bayanai game da gidan talabijin na 1955 na Gwamnatin da ke nuna cewa Ngo Dinh Diem za a rushe shi - kafin Amurka ta juyo hanya kuma ta sayi cikin halittar Diem ta Kudu ta Vietnam. . Har ila yau, a cikin labaran da aka yi wa tambayoyin Nixon da Kissinger na tattaunawa game da tsawan yakin da za a iya lashe zaben kuma ajiye fuskar.

Littafin yana da amfanar da ta hada da rubutun guda biyar waɗanda manyan malamai da marubucin suka ba da umurni. Daga cikinsu akwai wani abu wanda Fredrik Logevall ya yi akan abin da zai faru idan Kennedy ba a kashe shi ba; wani dan jarida Todd Gitlin a kan yunkurin yaki; kuma kwatanta da Viet Thanh Nguyen ya kasance a matsayin 'yan gudun hijirar, wanda, a cikin shari'arsa, ya tafi aiki a kantin sayar da kayan mahaifinsa a San Jose don lashe kyautar 2016 Pulitzer.

A cikin 1967, shekaru takwas kafin karshen karshen yakin, Lyndon Johnson yana sanar da "gagarumar ci gaba", tare da "cikewar VC a kan mutanen da aka karya". Mun ga gawarwakin wadanda aka kashe a cikin 'yan kabilar Viet Cong a cikin kaburbura. Janar Westmoreland ya tabbatar wa shugaban cewa yakin yana kaiwa "gagarumar rikici", lokacin da aka kashe mayakan abokan gaba fiye da yadda aka kama. Jimi Hendrix yana raira waƙa "Shin kuna da kwarewa" kuma yarinya yana kwatanta yadda "wariyar launin fata ya lashe" a cikin "yakin basira" wanda ya koya masa yadda za a "gooks" da "kashe dinks".

By 1969, Operation Speedy Express a cikin Mekong Delta yana bayar da rahotanni game da mutuwar 45: 1, tare da mayakan 10,889 Viet Cong kashe amma kawai 748 makamai dawo da. Kevin Buckley da Alexander Shimkin na Newsweek kiyasta cewa rabin mutanen da aka kashe su ne fararen hula. A lokacin da hare-haren da aka kashe ya kai zuwa 134: 1, sojojin Amurka suna kashe fararen hula a My Lai da sauran wurare. Edward Lansdale, daga bisani kuma, ya ce game da wannan mataki na karshe na yakin da ya yi a cikin motsi (ya bayyana daga Robert Taber's War na Fula): "Akwai kawai hanyar da za ta cinye mutanen da ba za su mika wuya ba, kuma wannan shi ne wargajewa. Akwai hanyar daya kadai don sarrafa yankin da ke kewaye da juriya, kuma hakan shine a juya shi cikin hamada. Inda ma'anan hakan ba zai iya ba, don kowane dalili, za a yi amfani da shi, yakin ya ɓace. "

War ta Vietnam
Wani fim din Ken Burns da Lynn Novick
PBS: 2017 

War na Vietnam: Tarihi mai mahimmanci
Geoffrey C Ward da Ken Burns
Knopf: 2017