Vietnamese deaths and casualties outnumbered American deaths and casualties by perhaps 20 to one, but the US still could not subdue the nationalist adversary that they faced. The US could bomb Vietnam’s cities to rubble, as it can Iraq’s cities, but this solves nothing, claims vast numbers of innocent lives, and confirms the view of Americans as occupiers.
越南是真正的前车之鉴。在越战中，越南的人员伤亡与美国相比大约是20比1，但即便如此，美国也未能征服其面对的民族主义敌手。美国可以将越南的城市炸成一片瓦砾，也能如此对付伊拉克的城市，但这样做不能解决任何问题，只能欠下许多的无辜命债，并使得侵略者的形象名符其实。