Jim Webb: “Today is the 33rd anniversary of the fall of South Vietnam, where the North Vietnamese offensive that had begun in the…”

“Today is the 33rd anniversary of the fall of South Vietnam, where the North Vietnamese offensive that had begun in the aftermath of a vote in this Congress to cut off supplemental funding to the Government of South Vietnam. This was combined with a massive refurbishment of the North Vietnamese Army that allowed an invasion to kick off at a time when our South Vietnamese allies were attempting to reorganize their positions in order to adapt to the reality that they were going to get markedly less funding from the United States in their effort to grow their incipient democracy. I think it is important for us to look back on that event and to give credit where credit is due, and also to talk a little bit about the future of relations between our country and the present Government in Vietnam. Too often in today's school systems and in the discussions that examine the Vietnam war, we are overwhelmed by mythology. In many cases, we tend to assume this was a war between the United States and Vietnam. Nothing could be further from the truth.”