THE DOMINO THAT NEVER FELL: THE COST OF ARROGANCE IN AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY

America believed it could shape the world — bend its will with bombs and soldiers, with flags and fire. That was Vietnam — a war not of necessity but of arrogance. Eleven years spent chasing ghosts in the jungle and a lie dressed up as strategy: the Domino Theory. One nation falls, then another. So, we sent our sons to die for that idea — and it proved a failure.

The truth? We couldn’t change the North Vietnamese. We could only change ourselves.

But we didn’t. Not right away. We marched into Iraq. Into Afghanistan. Syria. Iran. It is as if repeating the same mistake might rewrite the ending. It was like foreign lives; American limbs were tokens of a power-broker’s game.

And still, the Middle East theocracies stood, and the chaos bloomed. It was only later, in Ukraine, that something shifted. We helped, yes — gave arms, gave counsel — but no boots on the ground. For once, we understood not every war needs our flesh.

Some say Vietnam was a sign of the times. No. It was the sign of failed men in high offices, who thought soldiers were chess pieces and war a policy tool. Who believed negotiation represented weakness. It was old-guard hubris in medals and suits.