McCain's Imprisonment

I can't claim to be much of an admirer of John McCain's politics but I certainly do respect his courage- more so after reading this first-hand account of his lengthy imprisonment during the Vietnam War. It's certainly worth reading to learn more about the terrible treatment he and the other prisoners had to endure.

One thing which particularly struck me was this section-

They left no doubt in my mind that it was not a question of South Vietnam alone. Some people's favorite game is to refute the "domino theory," but the North Vietnamese themselves never tried to refute it. They believe it. Ho Chi Minh said many, many times, "We are proud to be in the front line of armed struggle between the socialist camp and the U. S. imperialist aggressors." Now, this doesn't mean fighting for nationalism. It doesn't mean fighting for an independent South Vietnam. It means what he said. This is what Communism is all about—armed struggle to overthrow capitalist countries.

It seems apt to recall this today when the jihadists continue to tell the West exactly what it is that motivates them and which goals they hope to achieve- and yet some are so blinded by their own imaginary view of how the world works that they continue to either ignore or dismiss these frequent statements of intent and origin.

The more things change the more they stay the same.