if in the complexity of this which was waged inside south vietnam and also across south east asia and also in the larger context of the cold war, summarizing his campaign seemsgy in one word fraught with imprecision at best and prepare occasion at worst. that the united states failed in vietnam does not necessarily prove that wes moreland implemented a flawed strategy. think you can have a good strategy and still lose a war. these campaign plans in the overarching military strategy of i thinkey are based, they included an inclusive set of concepts that focused on combating and the feeding an enemy. we cannot forget this is war. the story of vietnam is a political war as it is a military war. this is where i would like to end up this evening. policymakers were asking too much of their military strategists. in the end vietnam was a civil war among vietnamese. the foundation on which american forces waged to struggle involving the construction of an effective host government and the destruction of a committed communist nationalist enemy proved too fragile. officers found that nationbuild

on the ground in south vietnam the war had been won. one of the most distinguished correspondents of the era, because of that most papers and organizations would not hire him to cover north vietnam. they begged him to go to china and he felt korea was right. he wrote 1981 looking back coolly i believe it can be said surprising as it may still sound but the south vietnamese and american forces actually won limited military strategy. i can give you quotes from my old friend douglas pike and bob sarly, very distinguished historian written about vietnam, also a vietnam veteran. let me just end on this point with john lewis gattis, a very distinguished professor of history at yale university referred to by "new york times" as the deen of american cold war historians. and in 2004 he said historians now acknowledge that american counterinsurgency operations in vietnam were succeeding during the final years of that conflict. the problem was that support of the war had long since crumbled at home. we had a few responses to our letters inviting pe

but what we promised south vietnam was freedom. we used to bill of rights, particularly the first amendment as the instrumented and then expanded. it was everything you could think of. freedom of association, freedom of meetings, freedom of anything. and it was signed. signed by viet cong, signed by the north vietnamese, signed by the south vietnamese, signed by the united states. we won. then what all came about -- stop me if i'm being too long. president nixon decided to bomb hanoi this they came back to the peace table. as the media still calls it, the the christmas bombing. well, only one slight in accuracy. we didn't bomb on christmas. the president asked some on his staff do you think we should bomb on christmas? i says, yes, they're not christians in north vietnam, they're atheists. and, besides they always like to bomb on holidays, the tet offensive in 1968, the buggest holiday you could have in that part of the world, and they attacked. by all means. otherwise they're going to take advantage of us, they're going through th

much in agreement about this was that there were dramatic differences between the provinces in south vietnam and the most pronounced differences depended upon the religious composition of the population and how many of the people there have been refugees from the north. when the french got out of north vietnam there was a massacre of about 50,000 catholics and this was followed by a flight to the south of more than a million catholics in the united states played a considerable part in helping evacuate them to the south, which led senator george 18, who is best known for his later recommendation that the should declare the jury and go home to pithily observed that no good deed goes unpunished because the effect of having this very large northern population consisting mostly of catholics in the south was to create a condition in which the government of the south is almost entirely in the hands of northern catholics. the provinces with large catholic population were pro-government. provinces that didn't have a large northern catholic population were at best neutral listing you will recall the d

vietnam in their war against hoe chi min and the communist north. next, from 1963, a 30-minute u.s. army film documenting the activities of captain william johnston who trains and assists southietnamese troops while they are constantly being attacked and harassed by vietcong. 50 years ago on august 10th 1964 the situation in vietnam was transformed when lyndon johnson signed the resolution to grant the president broad powers to increase american involvement in the conflict. >>> since the outbreak of hostilities in 1959, united states army advisers in vietnam have undergone a variety of experiences and learned much about the complexities of guerrilla warfare in southeast asia. working through m.a.g. these advisers have increased in number to more than 12,000. each is assigned to a specific activity or unit of the army of the republic of vietnam commonly referred to as arvin to make sure that u.s. equipment is used and maintained properly and to teach by lecture, demonstration and by setting an example. perhaps the advisers most important function is to advise and assist the unit commander his arvin counterpart to make suggestions skillfully and diplomatically in a manner adju

troops had left south vietnam. for this country the war was finally over.years later, the north >> he hovered with his wheels in and out of the water. here's a man flying a twin rotor helicopter by himself. at the same time he's taking off a flight suit. how you do it, i've talked to helicopter pilots, and they can't figure out how he did that, like a houdini trying to get out of this thing. finally, he made the helicopter roll to the right as he stepped out the door on the left. he swam away. the helicopter was only about 20 feet from him when it hit the water. it was amazing. >> joining me now is rory kennedy, producer and director of that documentary, called "last days in vietnam." we all thought we knew everything from the one picture of people being pushed off the ladder to get up top. what more is there to the story in pictures? >> i think that's right. a lot of us feel like we know the whole story from that picture, and it's such an extraordinary story, that impact happened during the final days of the vietnam war that so few of us really understand

he landed his crop plane in south vietnam while under intense enemy fire, as he put it, you just can't leave a guy there. when he later landed safely back at his air base, they found 19 bullet holes in his plane. colonel bernie fisher served in world war ii and korea and vietnam. he was 87. his death now leaves 78 living recipients of the medal of honor. >>> a big surge in auto sales late this summer we've learned, chrysler, nissan, toyota, all reporting big increases last month compared with a year ago. ford up slightly, gm down a bit, chrysler up a full 20% fueled by a 49% jump in jeep sales. and we remain a truck nation. last month again three of the four top sellers were pickups. ford f-150, chevy silverado and dodge ram. >>> it's electronic season when the new devices come out and we learn what we're using is obsolete. because some people devote their lives to such things, there are already people in line at some apple stores just based on the widely reported rumor that the new iphone is coming out a week from now. not to be outdone, samsung is coming out with a new fleet of elect

vietnam in their war against homey minute and the communist north. next from 1963, a 30-minute u.s. army film documenting the activities of captain william johnston, who trains and assists southietnamese troops while they are constantly being attacked and harassed by vietcong. 50 years ago, on august 10th, 19 of 4, the situation in vietnam was transformed when lyndon johnson signed the gulf of tonkin resolution with congress granting the president broad powers to increase american involvement in the conflict. >>> since the outbreak of hostilities in 1959, united states army advisers in vietnam have undergone a variety of experigoet learned much about the complexities of guerilla warfare in southeast asia. working through mag, these advisers have increased the number to more than 12,000, each is assigned to a specific activity or unit of the army of the republic of vietnam, commonly referred to as arvin, where his chief duties are to make certain that u.s.çtt equipt is used and maintained properly. and to teach by lecture, demonstration and by setting an example. perhaps the adviser's most important function is to advise and assist the unit commander, his arvin counterpart, to

. >>> on this dayin' 1965, the united states army's first cavalry division began to arrive in south vietnamthe first full army division to deploy in the war zone, giving the united states more than 125,000 boots on the ground. the unit launch odd a new tactic using helicopters to move soldierses around the battlefield. choppers resupplied ground forces and airlifted the wounded. membered of the first cavalry won 25 medals of honor and thousands of awards for a mission that began 49 years ago today. as we remember theím attacks of 9/11. [bell ringing] [bell ringing] >> this day, trying to avoid another day like this day. welcome everybody, i'm neil could suit to took just a half a million dollars for al qaeda to pull all of that off. a mere pittance for a terror group like isis that rakes in more than four times that amount each day. and as its numbers continue to grow, isis is pretty much getting to be everywhere. more than 7500 foreign fighters from some 50 countries believed to bebñig

he had lost his son in the war and he was very attached to preserving south vietnam as it was when heived there. so he refused to acknowledge that the country was falling. so what happened was these american service men who were there started working under the radar of the ambassador, and involving themselves in these black ops, of getting vietnamese out of the country on air cargo planes, any means possible. >> some were reluctant to come forward with accounts of what happeneded that fateful day. was it difficult for them to relive those moments? >> i think it is. the larger story of course is we as americans abandoned our south vietnamese allies. it was, you know, it was not our proudest hour. and to know that we were leaving on helicopters that only fit 40 or 50 people and there was no way we would get all of them out was a tragic moment. they knew in leaving them behind, they were going to face peril because of, in part, because of their association with the americans. >> the footage that we see is footage that we have not seen widely used before. >> yes, and some of it has never

her father was a fisherman when the communists took over south vietnam. they were rescued by the united states navy at sea. she spent time in two different refugee camps. neither of her parents spoke a word of english. through all that, she ended up as a graduate of cornell law school. that, folks is -- [ applause ] that represents the best of what our country is all about. i have said for many years that the truest legacy of my time in public service will always come from the contributions of those who served either under my command in the marine corps or on my staff. our country has heard and will continue to hear from these talented men and women wherever they go and however they choose to serve. and a good number of them have made the trek over here to join us today. we did great things during those six years. they continue to show us that they are all stars in a multitude of endeavors. i would be pleased if they would stand or wave and be recognized right now. [ applause ] there have been a lot of things going on in the last couple of days. i'm sure

. >> reporter: he was a soldier for south vietnam fighting with u.s. forces.s captured during the war and spent two years in a communist concentration camp. >> they starve you. you know? do everything. a lot of my friend die in there. >> reporter: which makes the red star in the logo all the more insulting to vietnamese refugees. the red star seen here high atop kremlin has been a symbol of communism for generations and the star design of communist vietnam's flag is no accident. the president of the vietnamese- american community of greater dallas says the red star is a slap in the face. >> see that symbol, it hurts and it offends the community. >> reporter: the shop took a beating on the internet. on the facebook page, someone wrote next they will open a german pub with pay swastika. an online petition was started. guess what? it worked. by thursday morning, the parent company yum brands sent this email apologizing saying, we have the greatest respect for the vietnamese people and culture and by that afternoon, the sign was taken down. even the menus were rep

the iraqi army makes the army of south vietnam, which beak and fell apart look like they are the war mop from germany. i mean this army doesn't fight. we see isis is still gaining ground around baghdad. that's why we're having to bomb near baghdad. this is -- and for him to keep this assertion as doug said, that we're not going to have ground troops, you can't -- you can't reclaim territory, these people are not operating in a cave. they are holding territory the size of the state of -- the nation of belgium. >> on twitter and of course as we always do, later in the hour, we will bring back the fox news insiders and we will ask you to chime in while you tune in on twitter right now. david says the president is just waiting until public opinion pushes hitch to put in ground troops. >> the president has to lead public opinion and the interesting thing to me, in addition to his comments, tony blinken says this isn't going to be a long war, wire not going to butt troops on the ground, we're out of there in a short period of time. this is going to be the longest war of all. we're going to

say which country -- but the ambassador was going up the elevator, former chief of station in south vietnam, last one out. and tom said to the ambassador, you know, i want to send devine out for that task, and the ambassador said you don't mean that big, sinister-looking guy? [laughter] so i went home and i mentioned this to my wife, and i said you won't believe what the ambassador said, this big, sinister-looking guy. and she said well, jack, if i walked in and saw your face and doesn't know you in your office -- didn't know you in your office, i'd turn around and walk out. [laughter] so i went to this fellow in this room that i believe had his back to me, and i said, jerry -- [laughter] you know, what do you think? and he said, well, jack, do you ever see how you make a point? [laughter] so, however, what it really gets to in a way is the role-playing that operators undertake in their mission. and if you fast forward when i was running latin american division in the 1990-'92 period, as you remember, president clinton wanted to rethe dictators -- remove the dictators in haiti. and tony lik

and this was in the northern part of south vietnam. she pointed south toward saigon and said, now, how can i believe that when i look at what is in saigon. rotating generals. we are there and of losing american lives. one corrupt general after another is taking over the government. you know, the answer was always, that is there decision. we cannot control that. if we are going to put our lives on the line to you know, i do not see macarthur in japan saying you can take any kind of government that you want. eisenhower in germany. why do we do that, accept karzai in afghanistan. that becomes us. that identifies us. and so when you do that to get to your point what we are doing is, we walked into tell you how it is going to be a and then give you something you cannot live and die for. my argument with vice president biden is walking in at the beginning of the conflict and then dictating of the country should be structured and saying, well, you need to split it out. well, do you? do we know enough about that ? what does he know? and it may

. >> we got drawn into vietnam as an advisory role with south vietnam. i'm not saying -- i'm just saying, look at our past. look at our history. and these regions of the world that don't have the same quality, the same principles, same beliefs that we have. we should respect that. i think he made it very clear. you do harm to america. you plan on doing harm to america, there is no safe haven in the world for you, against us. we are unique in that. we can get you. we can stop you from harming america or americans. what we can't do is change your philosophy, your religion, thought process, your commitment to your way of life. you have been entrenched in this for 1400 years. we're not going to be able to do it in 13 years, almost $2 trillion, almost 7,000 american lives and the blood that's been shed, over 50,000 wounded. do you think we should've learned something, andrea? >> and if it comes down to it, would you vote against a continuing resolution that's going to fund the government during the recess if that amendment is still in there to train? >> don't

felt about how things worked out once he left and ford, you know, presided over the demise of south vietnam >> thank you. good. >> unfortunately, the taping system did not run for nixon's entire presidency. it ran until -- you saw at the very outset of the program, alexander butterfield revealing its existence. taping was turned off in july of '73. even before ford became vice president. as minority leader of the house of representatives though, he was called other for both republican events and bipartisan stro congressional leaders and they received a very basic briefing from time to time on vietnam. >> fortunately, not everything is dependent upon the tapes. and there's an awful lot of other material around. enormous amount. and as far as the way in which nixon dealt with ford, it was in a nice way but he did not bring him in to serious discussions about the war. as far as nixon was concerned, he was already out of office. for him the vietnam war ended more or less on january 23rd, 1973. he then left office in '74. the war went on until april 30, 1975. for richard nixon at that time, he w

wasn't settled, still would have had to go back for more bombing in 1975 if he was going to save south vietnam but put that issue aside and say nothing had happened bad in the second term, i think -- he wouldn't have been on rushmore but i think he would have been there with teddy roosevelt, woodrow wilson. in the 20s, high teens. he took on this unbelievable task which was ending this war while trying to maintain american prestige and credibility at a time when the country was as divided as in the civil war. it's no coincidence these two impeachments, andrew johnson and richard nixon, came because of these divisive wars and he is it still managed to put together a structure for the multipolar world we live in today, opening china, detente with the soviet union, allowing japan and germany to rebuild, safeguarding them. but i still think that and then given today's polarized politics, you have to look at his domestic record and say he cooperated with the democratic congress in part because he had to, in part because he didn't care and he wanted to focus on the great game of foreign policy, but

even so by 1972 when the north vietnamese undertook a major offensive, south vietnam, the south vietnamese army beat them. we threw that away. you could say we shouldn't have been there in the first place, but having set out to achieve one thing, we did achieve it. >> we did see a counterinsurgency in iraq and hasn't that failed to produce the kind of results we would like to see? >> the counterinsurgency, when we finally got our act together in 2006-2007 in iraq, that so-called surge wasn't the fact we sent 20,000 more money, was we finally -- 20,000 more men, was we finally fought the war the way it should have been fought. we beat the guerrillas. went against everyone's expectation, what the army did there; working with locals, learning to fight at night. and it worked. and that's why the sunnis, the militias, came op our side because we realized we were now knowing what we were doing. but again can, like vietnam, we threw it away. >> all right, thank you very much, mr. forbes. you can step down. thank you, gentlemen, both. [applause] let's hear it for all of our witnesses. great job. v

and she -- this was in the northern part of south vietnam. she pointed south towards saigon. she said, now, how can i believe that when i look at what's in saigon? if you can remember if you're old enough, the rotating generals, the coups. we're there fighting and dying, we're losing general american lives. one corrupt general after another is taking over the government. and, you know, the answer was always, well, that's their decision. we can't control that. be we're going the put our lives on the line and expend our treasure, i don't see mac arthur in japan saying you can pick any kind of government you want or eisenhower in germany saying that. why do woe do that? why do we pep a maliki in iraq, a karzai in afghanistan? that becomes us. that identifies us. and so when you do that, to kind of get to your point, what we're doing is we walk in and tell you how it's going to be, and then we give you something you can't live and die for. now, my argument with vice president biden is walking in at the beginning of the conflict and then dictating how the country should be structu

vietnam in their war against ho chi minh and the communist north. next, from 1963 a 30-minute u.s. army film documenting the activities of captain william johnston who trains and assists southetnamese troops while they are constantly being attacked and harassed by vietcong. 50 years ago on august 10th, 1964, the situation in vietnam was transformed when lyndon johnson signed the gulf of tonken resolution with congress granting the president broad powers to increase american involvement in the conflict. ♪ >>> since the outbreak of hostilities in 1959, united states army advisers in vietnam have undergone a variety of experiences and learned much about the complexities of guerrilla warfare in southeast asia. working through m.a.g. these advisers have increased in ñz?Ñ each is assigned to a specific Ñ activity or unit of the army of the republic of vietnam, commonly referred to as arvin, to make sure that u.s. equipment is used and maintained properly and to teach by lecture, demonstration, and by setting an example. perhaps the adviser's most important function is to advise and assist the unit commander his arvin counterpart to make suggestions skillfully and çpadjusted to th

her father was a fisherman when the communists took over south vietnam. they were rescued by the united states navy at sea. she spent time in two different refugee camps. neither of her parents spoke a word of english. through all that, she ended up as a graduate of cornell law school. that, folks is -- [ applause ] that represents the best of what our country is all about. i have said for many years that the truest legacy of my time in public service will always come from the contributions of those who served either under my command in the marine corps or on my staff. our country has heard and will continue to hear from these talented men and women wherever they go and however they choose to serve. and a good number of them have made the trek over here to join us today. we did great things during those six years. they continue to show us that they are all stars in a multitude of endeavors. i would be pleased if they would stand or wave and be recognized right now. [ applause ] there have been a lot of things going on in the last couple of days. i'm sure

he was very attached to preserving south vietnam. he was really i think arguably in denial about the fact that it was imminently going to collapse. and because of that, many vietnamese who should have gotten out of the country didn't get out of the country. so there were these makeshift operations that were put into place by people under the radar to get as many vietnamese out as possible. >> let's watch more, everyone, a clip from "the last days of vietnam." >> one vietnamese colonel putting his family on the plane, he had wanted to stay in vietnam to defend the country. and this colonel had like eight kids and a wife. he was in tears. the family -- the family were in tears. and i said to him, get on the plane. just go. go. it was a terrible, terrible, terrible moral dilemma. >> i was going to ask you how the evacuation affected the people there. but you can tell. deeply, profoundly. >> yeah, well, stewart harrington who you just saw there, he was put in a very difficult situation where he was one of the marines who was at the embas

debacle which took place with iran -- i mean with vietnam in 1975. 1975 the communists took over south vietnam, completely obliterating the efforts of 55,000 dead americans and the huge amount of money, et cetera, they spent on that war. everything went down the tubes. virtually overnight. in 55 days. and so the question, what was the public reaction to that, and communism and keeping a defense budget going, and the big change was they no longer wanted to use one tactic. vietnam demonstrated that was an idea. part of that is they were willing to say essentially that i don't care if communism advances, i do care if communism advances, i want to stop it from advancing but i'm not willing to use ground war to stop it. and if you have to use ground war, i prefer to let it advance. and indeed communism did advance in several countries after the fall of vietnam. i think those three lessons probably hold today as well. it seems to be very likely that the american public will be able to accept this debackle with a fair amount of good grace and go on to other things, shrug it off. i think that's most l

troop withdrawal had a lasting impact on our allies in south vietnam.t, the new french ambassador to the u.s. is our guest. we'll ask him if france is committed to sanctions against russia, even if it means hurting their own economy. it appears so. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. in new york state, we're changing the way we do business, with startup ny. we've created tax free zones throughout the state. and startup ny companies will be investing hundreds of millions of dollars in jobs and infrastructure. thanks to startup ny, businesses can operate tax free for 10 years. no property tax. no business tax. and no sales tax. which means more growth for your business, and more jobs. it's not just business as usual. see how new york can help your business grow, at startup.ny.gov we are a collection of smalls. a home saved. a hero homebound for a new opportunity. a kitchen that kick starts careers wells fargo invests in our communities a little differently. small measures that add up to make our whole even greater. little by little we can

look at this thing just roaring through here over the south sea into vietnam at this point. 150 kilometer miles an hour, as much as 300 millimeters of rainfall. terrific amounts rain. we saw that in the philippines as well. still raining there. more rain on the way, though, for this part, southeastern china specifically, 100 to 200 millimeters of additional rain so we'll have issues with that. in the philippines raining again already from another tropical disturbance here. this has a cyclone alert with it, which is the last step before they start issuing advisories. i think we'll have a named storm within the next 12 hours as it moves forward. it looks like it will miss as far as the winds but the rain will not. heavy rain well out ahead of it and behind it as you saw with that last one. more problems for the philippines unfortunately with another tropical cyclone. nontropical low but this one is turning in plenty of moisture coming in out of the south and west and then we have another low across southeastern europe. let's take threw and show you the flooding in romania. it's coming down

inches of rainfall in the next couple days with the heart of the storm system going to the south in northern vietnamant to take you to the northern united states, cool weather beginning to filter in. if you're tuned in late or early across the northeastern united states, you're feeling the 50s from boston to new york city. while in the southern portions of canada, montreal at 41 degrees this morning and conversely, natalie on the southwestern side of the united states, we have excessive heat advisories and watches. temperatures into the 90s for san diego and the coastal beaches of southern california. as we touched on a few minutes ago, with odile coming across the southwest, temperatures in phoenix dropping down to about 93 degrees cool with rain in their forecast. >> a cool 93. >> yes. >> all right, thanks, pedram. >>> still to come here, how one of america's top nfl players plans to move forward after facing an indefinite suspension for punching out his then girlfriend in that video seen around the world. we'll get the latest there. >>> plus, wheels and an engine, all in two days. we'll tell you

vietnam. >> reporter: as the south vietnamese army crumb belled thousands of vietnamese who -- crumbled thousands of vietnamese who had worked with americans struggled to escape. the iconic vietnamese boarding a chopper, he was arguing to get his people out. >> there were very few good options at that point. >> my dad flew a chinook helicopter in the south vietnamese air force. >> reporter: in never before seen footage kept in an attic undeveloped by a sailor aboard the uss herc, you see a south vietnamese pilot trying to escape tosses his entire family 18 feet to the death before he crashed his chopper into the sea and swam to safety. >> finally he made the helicopter roll to the right as he stepped out the door on the left. >> reporter: in the end u.s. left behind 420 people just on the embassy grounds. many of those people doomed to years in reeducation camps or death. lori kennedy says there's a message that needs to ring down through the years. >> we really need to think critically as we enter into conflicts, wars, engagements about what it is we're going to do to get out of these situations

it also said china has increased tensions with vietnam over activities in the south china sea. the subcommittee chairman said china is increasingly confrontation. he added that the united states must support regional allies and partners. resolution calls for resolving these matters peacefully. nhk world. >> now u.s. president obama has been working to expand the campaign against islamic militants. he's been helping to create a plan to fight them. lawmakers approved legislation authorizing the government to equip and train fight hers the syria. it passed the chamber by a majority. the measure is part of a stop gap spending bill that would expire in december. the legislation would authorize the government to assist moderate opposition forces in syria as part of the u.s. fight against islamic state. the obama administration has requested $500 million to support the syrian opposition. >> i want to start off by saying thank you to house members, republican and democrat, who came together today to pass an important component on our strategy for dealing with this terrible terrorist or

. >> take them out and be done with it rrl charlie and south jersey vets who served in vietnam and beirut say they agree with the president, there's a terrorist threat, but -- >> i don't believe they should eliminate the possibility of ground forces. >> these american forces will not have a combat mission. they'll not get dragged into another ground war in iraq. >> reporter: that plan doesn't sit well at this blackwood vfw post. >> none of you our troops are going to hit the ground floor. >> sadly we lost so many of our veterans in iraq to just give the country back. and unfortunately i feel it's just a little too late. >> reporter: but other veterans i met earlier in the evening at a town hall meeting say the president has it exactly right. >> let the people over there fight their own war about i mean, we can help them, but i don't want boots on the ground, no way. >> reporter: an nbc/"wall street journal" poll shows 61% of americans support military action. obviously there's debate on what kind of action. live in blackwood, new jersey, lu ann cahn, nbc 10 news. >>> the nation remembers

all the way around the region we have seen heavy rain from the south of china to northern vietnam and into laos. and we have seen flooding. >> thank you very much. more still ahead or the al jaseera newshour, including... >> they are the bangui cycling club. i'm in the central african republic. i'll tell you how these men and women want to compete on the world stage. >>> and we hear from the cyclists who have been slammed obvious the eye-catching kit. details coming up in sport. >>> welcome back, you are watching the al jaseera newshour, and a reminder of the top stories. the iraqi parliament is expected to complete the formation of a unity government. it's hoped that it will win the fight against the islamic state of iraq and levant. >>> in fiji, frank bainimarama has become the country's first elected leader after leading a coup eight years ago. international observers approved the vote. smaller parties say they do not accept what appears to be a decisive wind. >> polls opened in scotland for a referendum on independence. voters are asked to decide whether the countries should split

the documentary "last days in vietnam", tracks attempts to save americans and south vietnamese that helped effort as saigon fell. the story was relevant, and shows what happens in relation to when we pulled out the iraq and afghanistan. here is a look at "last days in vietnam" >> movie reel: one man is putting his family on the plane. he had one to stay in vietnam to defend the country. he had eight kids and a wife. he was in tears. the family was in tears and i said to him get on the plane, just go, go. >> it was a terrible moral dilemma. >> rory is the producer of "last days of vietnam", congratulations on this powerful film. let's hit the stage. paris peace accords in 19 73 setting a stage for peace in vietnam. watergate happened, and the north vietnamese take advantage of our issues to invade the south and take the territory over at a rapid pace, creating the chaos in saigon. the situation was desperate. >> and you couched it well. the troops left. the u.s. troops were there. it was so chaotic, it was so out of control, unexpected from washington's perspective, that they said we just g

in 1975 he and his wife claudia took some of the last of the south vietnam refugees. tom will be missed. i send my condolences to his wife claudia of 42 years who served as a dublin city councilmember, his sons marshal nd tom and daughters melinda -- daughter melinda. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? will gilbert -- mr. wilson: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. wilson: millions are dropping out of the work force. a clear symbol of the president's failure is the $14 million more people are forced to get on food stamps than when the president took office. the article explains that families are hurting as a result of the president's failed job policy. harvest food bank is serving an increase of needy families. c.e.o. denise hollins said when we open the lines are waiting for us all the way to the road.

challenging japan in the islands and the degree to which they are challenging vietnam, the philippines, and other states down in the south china sea. he's working from behind the eight all here to convince people that the u.s. would be there for them. fact theo the president has to do two things. yes to create confidence in his leadership because he wants to engage these threats and withenges to world order the combination of forces. he does not want to go in alone. yes to convince of his commitment, stamina, understanding. at the same time, he has to convince americans this is not one more time where we are striding into a conflict that will take money, treasure, and lives over a long time. there's a balance between how he whates this challenge to he can do and his own objective. >> that's part of the mismatch i was writing about the between the rhetoric and reality. in the middle east, one of the thetions is why are many of arab league states and many of the sunni states not speaking out more strongly against these horrific acts conducted by isis? of the twoe killing american journalists which are horrific tragedies by

vietnam." >> i borrowed a truck, and i basically sent a signal to my folks. a group of southieutenant colonels, colonels and their families to an address in downtown saigon. i drove down there. they loaded up onto the truck. and i drove them to the air base. i had told them, when you hear three thumps, that means hold the babies' mouths, don't breathe, don't talk, don't make any noise because we're going through the gate post. >> jon: please welcome rory kennedy. [cheering and applause] hello. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> jon: fabulous. fabulous film. >> thank you. >> jon: this is about the evacuation of saigon. it's one of the lesser-known episodes of the vietnam war. >> well, it's... you know, i think a lot of people are familiar with the iconic image of the helicopter on top of what people think is the embassy. it's, in fact, not the embassy. and the desperation of the vietnamese trying to leave during those final hours, and what had happened was we had appeased in 1973. a peace accord was signed. we no longer had troops. this is now april of '7

vietnam veteran. there were 2 million south vietnamese troops. 500,000 of us in vietnam at the time. smart.ot to spend nations are coming out of something. the reemergence after world war take an honest assessment of what we perceive a threats. perceive as we have to look at the world from the point of view of others. iraqnited states invaded and they weren't there. nothing has been said. there were not sanctions against the united states for doing that. we have to look at the world from the point of view of others. use diplomacy, soft power, have a strongvy, marine corps. spend smart, not necessarily more. host: this point -- host: from columbia, south carolina, paul, good morning. good morning. i have one thing to say about for jackson, here in columbia. when you go through the gate we have civilians guarding the gate. base.s a basic training we have plenty of soldiers out there that could be guarding the gates. wrong with theng armed forces nowadays, contract. it is so corrupt that it is not even funny. i understand that now they have turned these positions, not the contracts but the civ