For the publisher:
Some of us remember the photograph of the American napalm-scorched girl in Vietnam, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. It was a striking image of Phan Thi Kim Phùc, 9, naked, and many from that time have this vision engraved in their memory.
We now have a photo to remind us of the visions of war associated with the disorganized evacuation from Afghanistan. It can be summed up as a photograph of a US Navy officer taking a baby from a mother who hands her child over a wall, hopefully in a safe place, in the arms of a complete stranger.
Other photos taken during the Vietnam War show the evacuation of Saigon as the North Vietnam Army and Viet Cong march towards the United States Embassy in Saigon. Some of the photos and videos in the Vietnam news feed may be placed next to the same images from Afghanistan and you might have a hard time distinguishing them from each other. Citizens trying to flee a war-torn region by doing whatever is necessary to escape; hanging from planes, gathering at crossings, fighting the enemy, but most of all trying not to be recognized by those looking for citizens who have helped the US military.
If you assume that these events are happening in parallel, then you are correct. It is now Biden’s Saigon. No matter how much conflicting information we get, President Joe Biden is the Commander in Chief and he was the final decision maker on this and put lives at risk. Biden owns this debacle… it’s his Saigon.
Michel sargent
