I never served in a war, so maybe I don't have a right to say much about this. But I believe that all wars are horrible, and that this kind of stuff happens in all of them. That includes World War II ("The Good War"), Korea, the Gulf War, and any others people care to mention. The Vietnam War had its own unique aspects, of course, but let's not fall into the trap of believing that Vietnam was some sort of anomaly in that respect. I think this is the point Kerrey is making in some of his remarks -- it is a brutal, chaotic, horrifying affair, no matter who the enemy is or how well justified our involvement is.

If the purpose of bringing this up is to castigate and humiliate the participans all these years later, I would say we shouldn't bother. The only value in bringing it up is if it reminds us what war really is, so we can renew our determination to avoid it. Myths about "clean" wars are just that -- myths. If you believe that we have ever fought a war without descending to this level of brutality, you've been sold a bill of goods. While I respect the pacifists among us, I'm not saying that we should never fight in any wars. But let's recognize the beast for what it is, rather than try to pretend that the horror of Vietnam was unique.

Sherman, who was well acquainted with war, said it best over a hundred years ago: "War is hell." We've just been given another example so we can ponder what those three words really mean.