University of Virginia Library

Ludicrous Situation

When men believe strongly
enough in an ideology to
perpetuate a war such as the
Indochina war, they are inviting
My Lais. In carrying on a war where
human interests are secondary to
political principles, both sides have
placed their people in a position
where they must "neutralize" any
mere human being which stands
between that nation and ideological
victory. How, then, can a
belligerent state attempt to soothe
itself by prosecuting one small
actor in a belligerent action that the
state supports? The whole situation
is ludicrous.

The ultimate human tragedy of
the entire affair is that both sides
have invested so much in the war,
and placed much greater than real
stakes on the outcome that neither
believes it can afford to extricate
itself unconditionally.

That this conflict is bound to
follow the course intended by the
President seems quite certain
regardless of most possible
contingencies. It will always stand
as an example of the most absurd
of all human conflicts - one which no
one on either side fully understood.
Our goal must now be to prevent a
recurrence.