> Did the U.S. really lose the Vietnam war? The only revolution of
> consequence after the U.S. withdrawal was in Nicaragua, and that
> didn't end very well. Vietnam itself was ruined - impoverished and
> poisoned.
Naw. Vietnam kicked imperialism's ass, no question about that. The country was dirt-poor to begin with, so all the bombing really did was to create a lot of extra fish ponds. Also, the rain washed away most of the dioxins from Agent Orange -- the problem is with the stuff which bioaccumulated in people, but the crops nowadays are fine.
Why does revolution have to equal armed insurrection? I'd argue Eastern Europe 1991 qualifies as a revolution, and so does the end of apartheid in South Africa, the rise of the EU, and Max Payne hitting #4 on the PS2 charts.
-- Dennis