I’ve been hearing from a lot of readers who know their military history. One makes an especially good point about Kerry, noting that although Kerry’s combat performance was impressive, there’s a great deal about the military today that Kerry simply doesn’t know:

“After [Kerry] left, the military changed as much or more than in the previous 150 years. This was mainly in the areas of professional leadership, decision making, and doctrine, not just technology. The military remade itself by confessing its mistakes and actually trying to fix them. John Kerry was unavailable for that and does not appear to understand that it has occurred….For 30 years Kerry has cashed in on 4 years of very limited experience.”

Another reader writes in praise of delaying actions:

“I agree with your comment over in the NRO corner that “despite its ultimate failure the war represented a holding action that helped to make possible the rise of the “Asian tigers,” including Thailand and Taiwan.” The more that I read my history, the more I am led to draw the parallel between our fighting in Vietnam and the British fighting in Greece and Crete in the spring of 1941. The Brits fought in Greece due to principle. Even though they lost that battle, their sacrifice caused the Nazis to postpone their invasion of Russia from late April to late June. It is not too great a stretch to say that this laid the foundations for Allied victory in WWII, for by the time the Nazis got to the gates of Moscow the snow was already falling.”

Fight for the right reasons, and you can do a lot of good even if you lose. A nice point.