Vietnam War: New Ken Burns Documentary Dismisses the Origins of the Futile, Disastrous Conflict

Great article. At least it tries to explain how Burns skewed off track. It seems though that some of the unexciting and boring but important stuff did get shuffled to the sidelines or completely out of the picture. With it being 18 hours long as a finished product, you would think that unexciting but boring material would be covered, but it seems that it was deliberate.
It looks like I will need to watch this now.

I think the conversation between this author and a Vietnamese street vendor of coffins is a good summary of our war in Viet Nam.

"Strolling down a street in the city of Da Nang, Vietnam last month, I came upon a sidewalk shop selling shiny wood caskets. When I stopped to take some pictures, the elderly owner came out, smiling, and asked where I was from.

“America,” I told him, and he broke into a wide grin. Was I here during the war? he asked. I was, I said, in the Army. Then he raised his arms like he was firing a rifle. “I fought for Ho Chi Minh!” he exclaimed. I chuckled, struggling for an appropriate response. “Well,” I finally said, “I fought to stay alive.”

The old, Vietnamese warrior didn't hesitate to declare, and even celebrate, that he fought for his leader and was ready to die for the freedom he represented. The old American warrior had to struggle to come up with, "I just wanted to stay alive."

"Nor is it likely that The Vietnam War will heal the wounds of war or settle old disputes here over the course of its 10-week run. To the contrary, it’s likely to inflame partisan passions again..."

Exactly.