There clearly are lessons that we have learned from the Vietnam War that we have applied well to other situations, but there are also lessons that we think we have learned that are far less clear, and could lead to similar outcomes if we are not careful.

The Vietnam War certainly cast a pall over America, but much more so over all of Southeast Asia. Back then the enemy was seen as Communism. Now the enemy has transformed into various political movements along the far end of the authoritarian spectrum―whose understandable but deceptive attractiveness during moments of despair has even begun finding many adherents among us.

To head off that unfortunate development, join us in asking: Which foreign policies could we adopt that would make the freest end of the spectrum of democratic civilizations more robust, more stable and more desirable? And where does the development and use of military power fit into those foreign policies to achieve our civilizational goals?

Humanities West presents a variety of expert opinions on these important issues while reviewing what went wrong, and what went right, during the Vietnam War that ended so abruptly on April 30, 1975.

Join us for two nights, on April 30 and May 2, to hear six experts review what we have learned, and what we have not, about the Vietnam War.

Speakers on May 2

Vietnam in Joint Professional Military Education (JPME)

Jeffrey Shaw will discuss the Strategy and Policy curriculum at the Naval War College, which dates from 1973 when RADM Stansfield Turner developed a program of instruction meant to ensure that the United States did not repeat the Vietnam experience. How does the Naval War College approach the topic and what methods are employed to discern any lessons that might benefit not only military operators and planners, but also civilian policy makers? How does the Joint Professional Military Education delivered to today's officers integrate lessons about Vietnam and suggest ways in which a similar experience can be avoided? This presentation does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the United States Navy or the Department of Defense.

Afghanistan After 9/11

Thomas Berner will speak about his experiences in Afghanistan after 9/11 working for the Afghanistan Reconstruction Group, and the important distinction he sees between intelligence and intellectualism in the creation of our foreign policy. Intelligence produces an accurate assessment of the world and an ability to craft methods of dealing with it. Intellectualism is the construction of narratives to describe the world — a continuing foreign policy favorite in spite of those narratives often being seriously flawed. Berner will compare the flaws in the Kennedy Administration’s narratives about Vietnam with the flaws of our foreign aid programs in Afghanistan—which turned a potential partial victory into a stalemate, and then a stalemate into a defeat, due to our alienating attempts to impose our own cultural norms on an unaccepting culture.

Lessons Unlearned from the U.S. War in Vietnam

Le Ly Hayslip will point out that the Vietnamese call it the U.S. War in Vietnam, and that there are definitely known lessons that we learned from that war that should be applied and not forgotten. But there are also lessons we learned that should be unlearned. Additionally, there are unknown lessons that we know still need to be learned. And there are unknown lessons that we can safely assume we shall never learn—all of which Hayslip will share as part of her perspective of trying to see through the eyes of citizens from other countries around the world.