the area in which we are stopping our attacks includes almost 90% of north vietnam's population.ry. thus, there will be no attacks around the principled, pop lauld areas or the food producing areas of north vietnam. even this very limited bombing of the north could come to an early end if our restraint is matched by restraint in hanoi. >> the president issued an appeal for unity among the american people. and went on to speak in moving words of a future he foresees america as attaining. but it was in the final moments of his speech that he voiced the syllables that stunned the nation and reverberate around the world. to a disbelieving audience of countless millions, president johnson announced the decision that had been many months in the making, but only resolved within himself in the final hours of march. >> with american sons in the field far away, with america's future under challenge right here at home, with our hopes and the world's hopes for peace in the balance every day, i do not believe that i should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or

the soviet union and china were competing for greater influence in north vietnam and that worked out well for the north vietnamese because they could play them off against each other and get more weaponry. host: who was funding north korea during this time? explain what is happening and how that is relevant to what we are seeing today. elizabeth: in north korea they were playing both sides against the middle. they had patriot -- patrons in soviet union and in china but at , the same time, they were always doing their own thing. for example, they seized the uss pueblo, an american ship. host: what happened there? elizabeth: it was on a spy mission in what most people consider international waters, beyond the 12 mile limit. what happened in january of 1968 was that the north koreans seized this american ship. it was lightly armed. it was unprepared. they were unable to fight off the submarine chasers and fighters that went after the ship. the interesting thing about that is that neither the chinese nor the soviets were aware this was going to happen. like today, this was instigated by t

and so they were competing with each other for a greater influence in north vietnam, which worked out well because they would play them off against each other and get more weapons. >> who was funding north korea during this time and explain what happened and how that was huge today. >> north korea, they were playing both sides against the middle. they had patrons in china. but at the same time, they were always doing their own thing. and so for example, they would seize the american ship. they were on a spy mission. and it is what we consider the international waters, what most of them would consider beyond the 12-mile limit. and what happened in january of 1968, that the north koreans, they would see this american naval ship. it was lightly armed, still prepared. and they were not able to fight off the chasers, ultimately what went after the ship. so the interesting thing about that, that neither the chinese nor the soviets were aware this would happen. so like today, it was instigated by the north koreans. and they saw it as possibly an opportunity to start another war or two as the

host: in north vietnam, ho chi minh, what motivated him? est: vietnam as his long history, 2000 years of warring about its independence. it's been conquered by china for 1000 years, and when china came back and try to copy -- conquered them again. the amount is a country, not a war. and they were really passionate about reuniting that'll country. and of course, he felt that the way to do that was through a communist system. the longer-term trend has been there throughout the emmys history. ,efinitely a communist definitely a feeling that he was on the vanguard of will revolution and that's when i can 68 was about, this feeling that world revolution was spreading everywhere. from the plo to the other factions in other countries, and so ho chi minh sent on that. host: elizabeth cobbs from texas a&m and mark kramer from harvard. they are you are next from new hampshire. caller: happy mother's day and thank you for c-span. an earlier caller mentioned it that the military people are in power presently would remember how bad the amount was in some

host: in north vietnam, ho chi minh, what motivated him? est: vietnam as his long history, 2000 years of warring about its independence. it's been conquered by china for 1000 years, and when china came back and try to copy -- conquered them again. the amount is a country, not a war. and they were really passionate about reuniting that'll country. and of course, he felt that the way to do that was through a communist system. the longer-term trend has been there throughout the emmys history. ,efinitely a communist definitely a feeling that he was on the vanguard of will revolution and that's when i can 68 was about, this feeling that world revolution was spreading everywhere. from the plo to the other factions in other countries, and so ho chi minh sent on that. host: elizabeth cobbs from texas a&m and mark kramer from harvard. they are you are next from new hampshire. caller: happy mother's day and thank you for c-span. an earlier caller mentioned it that the military people are in power presently would remember how bad the amount was in some

it is a terrible tragedy, for the north vietnam's -- the north vietnamese and vietnam. host: 1968, -- "1968: america in turmoil." joining us here as we wrap up our nine-part series, mark kramer from harvard university and elizabeth cobbs from the hoover institution, and texas a&m university. stewart is joining us from mechanicsville, virginia. good morning. caller: good morning. happy mother's day. i was born in -- i went to high school in 1968 at the age of 17. i asked my father if he would sign me out for the corps. he told me in bold the labels to remove my head from another part of my anatomy. i turned 18 in july. i signed up. at any rate, the army took me, but talking bout the cold war. i will tell you what the cold war was. the guys that did serve, they came back, if you had short hair, you were shunned. i had one friend come to the airport in california, and somebody asked him, said, how many babies did you kill? he said i did not kill one soul, but if you do not get off my face, you will be the first. host: from your standpoint, why was that sentiment so prevale

they were competing with each other for a greater influence in north vietnam. that worked out well for the north vietnamese because they can get more weapons. host: who was funding north korea during this time. explain what was happen and how that's relevant to what we're seeing today? guest: in north korea, they had sort of playing both sides against the middle. they had patrons in soviet union and in china. but at the same time, they were always doing their own thing. for example they seized the uss pueblo which was a american ship ship. it was in international waters. beyond the 12-mile limit. what happened in january of 1968 is that the north koreans seized this american naval ship. it was lightly armed. it was ill-prepared. they were unable to fight off the submarine chasers that went after the ship. but the interesting thing about that, neither the chinese nor the severes were aware this would happen. this is really like today something that was instigated by the north koreans. they saw it possibly an opportunity to start another war as they would say libe

colleague had decorated aviator was beaten and tortured for two years after being captured in north vietnam. no matter how you dress it up torture is torture and it is wrong. it is inhumane, ineffective and un-american. that was the conclusion of the 2014 senate intelligence committee report for the cia detention and interrogation program during the bush administration. the committee drew a definitive conclusion that torture does not work and in fact not only does it not work doesn't make it more difficult to protect national security should they agree t with this or to get a really good explanation and should they state clearly that torture is wrong but when repeatedly asked a yes or no question by my colleague senator will the actions to find out these are not the answers of a person trusted to administer the powerful cia and that question of trust goes to my second objection as director of the cia those that are held in secret never reviewed by the american people it is critical that we trust their judgment and have completete confidence in honesty and the willingness to submit to congre

decorated naval aviator who was beaten, broken and tortured for two years after being captured in north vietnam. no matter how you dress this off, torture is torture and it is wrong. it nhis inhumane, it is ineffective and it is un-american. that was the conclusion of the 2014 senate intelligence committee reports on the cia detention and interrogation program during the bush administration. the committee drew a definitive conclusion, torture does not work. in fact, not only does torture not work, it makes it more difficult for other agencies in our government to protect our national security. surely a person who is seeking to be a director of the cia in 2018 should agree with this assessment. or be able to give a really good explanation of why not. and someone eeseeking to be the director of the cia should be able to state clearly, that torture is wrong. but when repeatedly asked a yes or no question by my colleague, where the cia's actions immoral? ms. haspel danced around the answer. these are not the answers of a person who can be trusted to administer the powerful cia. the question of trus

than they'd used in the entire world war ii. >> north vietnam would not enter into any negotiations in vietnam. >> for the last two weeks word of a breakthrough in peace has swept the world. there's been no official announcement by this country until the one the president is about to make right now. >> i have now ordered that all airmail and artillery bombardment of vietnam cease. >> there are people who are going to speculate how the president was able to bring this about five days before the election. >> johnson's so-called bombing halt was designed to push humphrey over the top. my view was it was a political ploy. >> if the democrats managed to settle the war by election day, election is over. richard nixon has no chance at all. he responds with a very radical maneuver. >> nixon tells his team to use a woman to monkey wrench the negotiations in paris. >> anna, a fundraiser of nixon campaign is telling saigon stay away from peace talks and you'll get a better deal if nixon is elected. >> as my candidate joins me in this, neither he or i will say anything that might destroy the ch

the mission that north vietnam has been met. eace talks, they will happen. >> well in saigon november 1st, the president stands up and drops his major bombshell. >> translator: south vietnam cannot participate in the negotiations. >> i have no more things to tell you. >> embarrassment is commonly today among americans here in vietnam particularly those of us who has acquaintances. we find ourselves apologizing. >> once we heard the means were not aboard, i said let this play out, when the south vietnam thing breaks it's going to look like johnson didn't have all his ducts in a row and it's as applicable as it can be. >> i think president johnson wen into this bombing clause with the very best intentions. i think the reason the ducts were not in a row is he was relying on an old team. i think what we need is a new team, a new team that won't make these mistakes. you should find n marketing a.s.a.p. joanne in marketing. switch to sprint and get 50% off a samsung galaxy s9 lease. for people with hearing loss, switch to sprint and ge

it was not just the united states versus north vietnam and i foundg, what fascinating was in 1958 there was a conglomerate called the free world forces. her out the vietnam war there are tens of thousands -- throughout the vietnam war there tens and thousands of south koreans fighting on the vietnam side. there are australians fighting in this war, in addition to chinese and soviet assistance. ,e have to consider temporarily, we talk about 1968. we have to understand, the cost of this war goes past 1968. the united states pays for this war still. american involvement in vietnam, they just assumed everyone had agent orange. everyone who served in the military in 1958 has health care because of the assumption they have been exposed to agent orange. if you did not know that, aliens of dollars, we continue -- billions of dollars, we continue to pay for that. thealso have to understand legacy of this for the individuals. letter, webout this do not know how many times this guy lived 1968 in his head. that's very relevant. >> it's interesting you bring up agent orange, because the lieutenant d

the vietnamese were fighting a war for independence, for that get linked to the cold war because north vietnam has a communist association and the chinese are supportive. the fundamental war for the vietnamese was about independence. domino theories, and that's way, don't signify the ways in which they did for johnson or nixon. the extent around it, you get to the other side of it, and in 1975, the communists were victorious and today, we have a market economy that looks much like it was in their wildest in hopes of what the vietnam war would become and it never did. a wayu know, history has and moving directions people to understand. how important was normalization? >> we can sometimes overestimate the impact of the united states on places like vietnam and others as well. duringa trade embargoed the vietnam war which we did not lift until the 1990's and once we did, that is what moved toward diplomatic relations. in the meantime, everybody what was successful there. in talking about why the vietnamese economy has been successful of this market economy, one has to look toward europe and more t

host: in north vietnam, ho chi minh, what motivated him? est: vietnam as his long history, 2000 years of warring about its independence. it's been conquered by china for 1000 years, and when china came back and try to copy -- conquered them again. the amount is a country, not a war. and they were really passionate about reuniting that'll country. and of course, he felt that the way to do that was through a communist system. the longer-term trend has been there throughout the emmys history. ,efinitely a communist definitely a feeling that he was on the vanguard of will revolution and that's when i can 68 was about, this feeling that world revolution was spreading everywhere. from the plo to the other factions in other countries, and so ho chi minh sent on that. host: elizabeth cobbs from texas a&m and mark kramer from harvard. they are you are next from new hampshire. caller: happy mother's day and thank you for c-span. an earlier caller mentioned it that the military people are in power presently would remember how bad the amount was in some

would be using air power to go directly against north vietnam. that started with the gulf of tonkin resolution passed in congress. at that time is set that the id that the- it sa president of the united states to take any action anywhere in the defense of america's interests against the communists. that was a big statement. most of the reporters, did not, i am sorry to say, take that up. the people at cbs and the washington post did. host: the tet offensive in 1968, the chinese new year, proved the u.s. government was lying to the american people. why? guest: at that time, remember, it was already 25,000 american deaths into the war. we had been experiencing over a period of three years what it was like to fight that war and to realize that you could take a mountaintop and lose 100 marines doing so. and that night willingly pull out from that mountaintop. the question was, why did you take it in the first place? questions about strategy came up. the credibility gap came up. the american people were beginning to realize when the people who were dy

was going to bomb north vietnam. and that started the whole idea that the u.s. would be using airpower to go directly against north vietnam and that started with that resolution passed right here in congress and at that time the president of the united states could take any action anywhere in defense of america's interests against the communists. and that was of statement. but most of the reporters did not pick that up. the people at the washington post knew it. >> he began the conversation by saying that in january 1968, that proved the u.s. government was lying to the american people. why? >> because at that time -- it was already 25,000 americans were dead into the work we had experienced over a period of three years what it was like to fight that war and to realize that you could take a mountaintop and lose 100 marines and that night pull out and the question was why did you take it in the first place. and questions about strategy came out and a credibility gap came up in the american people were beginning to realize when the people who were dying, the man w

also, how he understood that interjecting north vietnam supply lines was a key to success. because there are different ways to reduce combat effectiveness. killing a person, that's one way. but if you cut off his supplies, he doesn't have the bullets or the weapons or the medicine, then those are ways that you also reduce combat strength. so this explains much of what westmoreland was doing in '67, including this secret operation, called south paw el paso, that he helped to launch in early '68. building up to cut the ho chi minh trail. he wasn't just hanging the marines out to dry. that was going to be the jumping off point through southern laos, dakto, same thing. that's why the battles took place in late '67, because the north vietnamese knew that was a threat. tet itself, it's been argued that tet is a turning point. there's arguments for that, but on the whole, i would argue for continuity, i would say that u.s. military policy doesn't change very much. in fact, military policy had already been established before tet. president johnson had already confided to general we

taken by the secretary of state, dean rusk, were conflicted by the grim situation in the vietnam war and with north korea.>> and elizabeth, frank gorman reading a lot of telegrams. but the one that stood out the most was from an american citizen congratulations to the crew of apollo 8. you saves 1968. >> i think that the cold war pushed america to examine itself and to try to define what was or, not just what was against, and apollo 8 -- what they said was here's a perspective on our world. here is our earth and i think the last words were merry christmas to the good earth. and the sense that we are all in this fragile little planet together and we need to work together.>> and that concludes our nine part series. we want to thank elizabeth cobbs and mark kramer from harvard. to you and all the guests that participated in the series, we thank you. >> madeleine albright sits down with washington post columnist david ignatius to talk about the trump administration's one policy, including the current talks with north korea about a possible summit. then, at 10 pm, of form and how to use intelligence to

many of the people who died were killed by north vietnam or viet cong, but vietnam munitions were also taking part. and that was at the root of the need to stop the war. but also to stop our country and our policy from killing vietnamese people who hadn't done anything to us. >> more of your calls in a moment. but here's the trailer for that new documentary "it's called hit and stay". it runs about two minutes. >> i believe we are in such times as making it increasingly impossible for christians to obey the law of the land and to remain true to christ. >> but at the height of the vietnam war, nine catholics entered this board in kayto kaytonsville, maryland, they brought these books and -- >> they stood afternoon and they were talking amongst themselves and they were praying and waiting for the fed to show up. >> we knew this was drama, this was not just politics. this was vote ter. >> i think the catonsville 9 started things -- >> this was a series of actions. >> there were over 100 draft board actions in this country. >> we now know that those draft boards never drafted again. >> tha

air and declared that the attack took place and therefore, the united states was going to bomb north vietnam. they started the idea that the united states would be using air power to go directly against vietnam. that started with the resolution passed right hear in congress, at that time, it said that the president of the united states can take any action, anywhere, in defense of america's interest against the communists. that was a big statement but most of the reporters did not, i'm sorry to say, pick that up. i think that the people at cbu knew it and the people at the washington post did but that was it. >> you began the conversation by saying that the tet offensive in 1968 proved that the united states government was lying to the american people, why? >> because at that time, remember, it was already 25,000 american deaths into the war. we had been experiencing over a period of three years, what it was like to fight that war and to realize that you could take a mountain top and lose 100 marines doing so and that night, willingly pull out from that mountain top. then the question was, wh

showers once in the philippines there's been more of a concentration in thailand possibly but in north vietnam and of course occasional green dots in borneo. include singapore. al-jazeera wild need some extraordinary women. who are making things happen that way. following their daily struggle to survive. for their families to thrive. swimmin streets. on al-jazeera. well again this is al-jazeera our top stories this hour members of iran's parliament of the u.s. flag angry of a president donald trump's decision to withdraw from the twenty fifteen nuclear deal from pulls the agreement defective to its core iran's supreme leader q. says trump of lying but says he made a mistake. the armed group i saw has claimed responsibility for at least nine explosions in the afghan capital want to lease but was killed and at least six other people injured in the civil terrorist attacks here to police stations in. the riots at a high security prison for i still suspect that indonesia has killed at least six people come to see us being told that the inmates stole weapons that are holding several guards hostage a

kennedy makes news again with a demand that bombing of north vietnam targets be halted, a demand thatiden the differences between himself and the president. mr. johnson says we shall persist in our operations in the north. >> bobby kennedy was in a sense the president's creation on vietnam. he was involved when his brother was getting u.s. troops in there in the early '60s. but by the mid, late '60s bobby kennedy is turning against the war. >> kennedy said all men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong and repairs the error. the only sin is pride. >> bobby was being seen increasingly as a figure around whom the left could rally if it's going to challenge lyndon johnson. >> in 1968 there's a meeting at bobby kennedy's house to discuss the possibility of him running for the presidency. >> at that time he was having this debate within himself. >> he didn't want to be seen as just running against lyndon johnson aught of bout of bitter. >> i caught you, daddy. >> also, he knew enough about politics that it's hard to run against a sitting president. >> bobby

medals and win the prize and gain the victory. >> apollo starts the final push to the moon. >> north vietnam the peace talks until the bombing has stopped. >> a long time, jack. >> he can handle the people of the problems of america. >> he must be getting saddle sore straddling those issues. >> when you start throwing rocks that size -- who threw it? >> it's been one of the most roughest years in american history. in the next few hours, we'll see how it all turned out. >>> as we look at america we see cities enveloping in smoke and flames. we hear sirens in the night. we see americans dying on distant battlefields abroad. we see americans hating each other, fighting each other, killing each other. >> mr. nixon, i'm going to sting you and sting you look a hornet day in and day out. >> we got some difficult days ahead. but it really doesn't matter with me now, because identify

. >> his father was actually conducting the bombings on north vietnam. that was one of the reasons they were trying to get john to leave early, thinking he would get good graces of his father and stop the bombing. >> what did you think of the last couple days the president on two occasions, even at this late moment in john mccain's life, really going after him for that negative vote at 3:00 in the morning on obamacare? you saw what the president has been saying lately. >> i have, and it's discouraging. we're all anxious to have the president of the united states rise above pettiness and grievances and conduct himself as a leader of our country. in fact, when there is talk about a nobel prize, i would like to have a nobel prize given for reuniting this country, of healing the divide that's taking place in this country that is in danger of tearing us apart. i would like to have the president take that measure to heal us and be a president for all the people, not just for hard-core republicans or be opposed to hard-core democrats. >> what do you think about

mostly by the north vietnam people. it was a failed military offense but it had a huge effect at home. we felt that the war was lost. >> where did this put the vice president at the time, humphrey. >> he was a classic liberal. he supported civil rights legislation and had support among liberal groups, when he became vice president, he became a loyal supporter of johnson. he was a bigger supporter of the war than johnson in some respect. this created a lot of problems with his party. liberals thought he turned his back on the party and among some, they believed that he lost his beliefs. >> kathleen kennedy townsend, we want to talk about your father but first i wanted to ask you about senator mccarthy, he announced to challenge the sitting president, president johnson, what was your father thinking about as he was ramping up his campaign. >> as you know, a number of people were asking my father to run for president and my father was ambivalent about it because he thought it would be seen only as a fight against president

amy: this was after you have been to north vietnam. >> right.his was may of 1968 and i had been in hanoi in late january, early february of that year. amy: with the string howard zinn? freeing prisoners of war? >> yes, we brought home three flyers who had been captured and imprisoned. it was a kind of gesture of tete during the so-called holiday, which was traditionally a time of reunion of families. so they wanted these flyers to be reunited with their families. and catonsville, was this the first time you were breaking the laws of the united states? >> know, i have been at the pentagon in 1967 and i think it was in october. a great number of us were arrested after a warning from mcnamara to disperse. we spent a couple of weeks in jail. it was rather rough. and we were in a d.c. jail, which is a very mixed lot. so i had had a little bit of a taste during the prior year. amy: you and your brother phil berrigan had an unusual relationship with secretary defense mcnamara. you actually talked to him, wrote to him, met him? >> yes, i met him at a so

john mccain was of course captured by north vietnam after he bailed out of his airplane in 1967. it was a bombing mission, prisoner for five years. when his capt toxt rs found out he was the son of a famous admiral, they offered to release him but he refusioned fused to go until they released the other americans and they did not so he stayed. >> we'll continue to watch what's happening in washington, the president has an important announcement on drug prices. we'll follow that on twitter @scottmcgrew. >> thanks, scott. new this morning, take a second and look around your house and see if you're missing something, maybe a green reptile about the size of a large house cat with a tail that could trip over if it switched the wrong way. that's what police in vacaville found yesterday. someone called them to report it under a car there. this is not something that you would normally see everywhere. not a drag on from game of thrones, it's an iguana and nicknamed it iggy and right now iggy is in temporary custody at vacaville police department waiting for his owner to give a call. >> igg

amy goodman: now, this was after you had been to north vietnam. father daniel berrigan: right.s was may of '68, and i had been in hanoi in late january, early february of that year. amy goodman: with historian howardrd zinn. father daniel berrigan: right. amy goodman: freeing prisoners of war? father daniel berrigan: yes, we brought home three flyers who had been captured and imprisoned. it was a kind of gesture of peace in the midst of the war by the etetname, duduri the so-cleled teholilida whichchas traditiolllly a me o of union of families,ndnd so ey w wand these flyerso o be rniteted th their mimilies amy goodman: icatonsvie, was is the fst time u were breakinghe laws the united states? father daniel berrigan: no, i had been at the pentagon in '67 ini think it was in october. and a great number of us were arrested after a warning from mcnamara to disperse. and we spent a couplple of weees inin jail. it was rather rough. and we did a fast. in we were in the d.c. jail, which was a very mixed lot. so i had had a little bit of a taste during that prior year. amy goodman: you a

were rehearsing invasions of north vietnam, which we do at least annually, and signing a peace treatyer, what is it, more than 60 years. withormalizing relations north korea. i think that is possible, more than possible, but it doesn't seem where we are headed. trump is to be pushing at a totally infeasible notion of the very early stages of the giving up their deterrent entirely, all of their nuclear weapons deconstructed. i think kim jong-un think that would be crazy for him, and that is that the kind of crazy he is. the kind of crazy that trump is, i'm afraid, is that he could start that war. amy: what is your assessment of the national security visor john bolton who said in sunday talk show, as the summit was, well, about to get underway in a few weeks, that he was looking at the libya option? , black is such a macabre humor kind of joke. of the nuclear, the expensive and difficult nuclear program in north korea is precisely that example that endon -- he doesn't want to with the bayonet in his back any more than could off the wanted that -- could off the wanted. bolton, has made n

she was shot down over north vietnam. both his legs and his right arm -- his right leg and both his arms were broken in the crash. >> still can't lift his arm completely over his head. >> he still can't comb his hair. when he landed, he was stabbed, he was beaten. later his captors found out his father was the commander of the pacific fleet. so they said, you're free to go. he could leave at any time he wanted. but he wouldn't do it because the code of honor of p.o.w.s is first in, first out. so he was tortured to resisting. more than most. so what he endured for our country, he endured unspeakable torture and he is an american hero. i don't agree with hi politics. that's not the point. to say something like that about a president who has given this much for his country is beepgt content. >> should not have been saying this, correct? >> absolutely not. john mccain is a war hero. he is -- the sacrifice that he made and those like him have made give us the freedoms that we enjoy. and we have to respect that. and beyond that

before he was shot down over north vietnam, over hanoi wraers on the uss sfors stahl sitting in his jet when a rocket went off and blew up every jet around him killing 134 people. after getting out of a burning plane, he helped fight that fire. all right. that showed he has bravery and courage above and beyond his call when he was shot down in hanoi hilton. so that's something we all need to take into account. i don't know mrs. sad ller, but don't think she should work for the government anymore. >> he tweeted i believe gina haspel is a patriot in serve our country but her role in acknowledging torture is disqualifying. he is tweeting about an issue he feels strongly but something he has direct experience with as a victim of torture. john mccain can't be said to be anything but a patriot who is hawk issue on most things, he just thinks torture is wrong. the right response to john mccain would have been a policy response not a response whether he matter orts not. >> absolutely. i got into the debate about torture, i was one of the first people to i'd pie what happens during waterboarding

understood, even though they were not telling the american people at that time were ever, was that north vietnam has a very healthy birth rate. they have no interest in stopping fighting. lickmight go back and their wounds for however long it takes to rebuild, but they will be back and they will not walk away, so it ultimately became a question of how long is this war going to go on because even though we killed a lot of soldiers and combatants in the offensive, it was not decisive for them, so understanding where they were coming from, that is why the wiseman, the inner circle of the risers that johnson had came to him and said, you have to get out. so walter, cried to not know any of that, and you know, what he was looking at was this is unsustainable for the american people, and also what is at stake. what are we fighting for? what is the cause and risk to our country if we do not win the war? also, the cost problem, do we continue to throw more young men into the fight to justify the lives of those who have already been lost? so there's a lot going on below the surface, and i think walter co

we tried to do that in the vietnam war in the sixties and seventies escalate violence to make north vietnam quit that did not happen i think by imposing these sanctions on iran instead of getting regime change unfortunately we may be rallying the iranian public to support its government saying walk america has interfered before one thousand nine hundred fifty three and the most the deck. regime change in which the shah was returned we will not tolerate this and instead of getting iran's government to do what we want we may end up with iran becoming even more belligerent more hostile and laying the groundwork for huge amounts of legal fees as people will sue in the international courts to make point the point that perhaps american restrictions are against international law this is the beginning i'm afraid of a huge mess with no clear way out really interesting to get your point of view harlan ullman of the atlantic council in washington thank you very much indeed for your time. still ahead on al-jazeera. and gunmen launched coordinated attacks in the afghan capital battling security forces f

understood, even though they weren't telling the american people this at the time or ever, was that north vietnam had a very healthy birth rate. they had no interest in stopping fighting. they might go back and lick their wounds for a year or 2, 3 or four, but they will be back and they are not walking away. ultimately it became a question of how long the war is going to go on. even though we killed a lot of soldiers and combatants in the tet offensive, it wasn't decisive for them. understanding where they were coming from, the inner circle of advisers they had came and said -- you have to get out. walter cronkite didn't know any of that. looking at really was -- this is unsustainable for the american people. also, work at stake? what are we fighting for? what if we don't win the war? .nd the sunk cost problem do we continue to throw young men into the fight to justify the lives of those who have been lost? a lot is going on below the surface and walter cronkite becomes the lightning rod or the fulcrum in a way where you have to take a longer review to appreciate the context. doug, i want to ask

we got a lot of higher end work in north jersey, because my friend was a vietnam vet and the doctorswanted to hire him and hear his stories. my father was a platoon sergeant in the philippines -- in the pacific theater in one were to, came home, never talked about the war. he went through hell, he kept his mouth shut. worked until the day he died at 83 and never asked the government for anything. he never got the g.i. bill, never got medicare. i think the vietnam vets and ets should just shut up, do their job, and go to work, just like my father did, the greatest generation. host: lynn novick, anything from the last couple of colors you want to respond to? lynn: i think what we see is there are many versions. we all have our own narrative and they don't always line up. it is a big country and there is a lot of variety of experience. on the one hand, it's absolutely , especiallymetimes if soldiers came home right around 1969, 1970, it was very painful and difficult and they were targeted as the closest thing you could find to what was happening to criticize. but there were also vetera

american citizens returned to the united states as i was when john mccain walked off the plane from north vietnam. i think anytime hostages returned to our country or to any other country it's a good day. the other thing i want to say is i think melania trump looks gorgeous in that outfit. before you go, a previous caller had said the president arriving in the early morning hours for him took something away from the arrival of freeman -- free men. did you have those thoughts similar? caller: i have a lot of progressive friends who don't ever want to see donald trump. because of some of the things he does and the current domestic reports about his -- about the molar investigation. i've decided that he is the president of the united states. he is considered to be the leader of the free world. and i want to see what this guy does. i'm not sure it was necessary to do that and i think it's part of donald trump's profile to be in the spotlight whenever something good happens. because quite frankly rarely these days does anything could happen with this presidency. give him his props. host: jodey off of

decorated naval aviator who was beaten, broken, and tortured for two years after being captured in north vietnam. no matter how you dress it up, torture is torture, and it is wrong. it is inhumane. it is ineffective, and it is un-american. that was the conclusion of the 2014 senate intelligence committee report on the c.i.a.'s detention and interrogation program during the bush administration. the committee drew a definitive conclusion. torture did not work. and in fact, not only does torture not work, it makes it more difficult for other agencies in our government to protect our national security. surely a person who is seeking to be the director of the c.i.a. in 2018 should agree with this assessment or be able to give a really good explanation of why not. as someone seeking to be the director of the c.i.a. should be able to state clearly that torture is wrong. but when repeatedly asked a yes or no question by my colleague, senator kamala harris, were the c.i.a.'s actions immoral, ms. haspel danced around the answer. these are not the answers of a person who can be trusted to administer the po