Trump ICE Raids: Vietnam Parallels in Enforcement Tactics

• Donald Trump's current 35% approval rating mirrors public sentiment during the Vietnam War after the 1968 Tet Offensive.
• The CIA-led Phoenix Program, which aimed to "neutralize" NLF members through murder and torture, serves as a historical precursor to Trump's ICE raids.
• Both the Phoenix Program and Trump's ICE raids involved quotas and targeted individuals, with many ICE detainees lacking criminal charges despite claims of apprehending the "worst of the worst."
• Public trust in leadership eroded in both eras due to perceived dishonesty, incompetence, and the falsification of information, such as Trump's deletion of nearly 400 government databases.
• Historical events like the Kent State shootings and modern anti-ICE protests highlight public unrest fueled by controversial government actions and justifications.

A U.S. Army major's stark comment during the Tet Offensive, "We had to destroy the village in order to save it," encapsulates a mindset of extreme measures and questionable justifications that resonate through history.

Donald Trump's current U.S. approval rating stands at approximately 35%, a figure that strikingly mirrors public sentiment towards the Vietnam War following the 1968 Tet Offensive. This historical parallel underscores a significant moment of public disillusionment. The Tet Offensive marked the first nationwide assault by the National Liberation Front (NLF) against U.S. forces and their South Vietnamese allies.

During the month-long offensive, the United States incurred substantial losses, with at least 9,000 service members killed, 35,000 wounded, and 1,500 missing in action. The human cost for Vietnamese civilians was considerably higher, though precise figures remain elusive, partly because the U.S. "Mission" categorized all deceased Vietnamese as Viet Cong. Despite the creation of at least 630,000 refugees, U.S. policymakers controversially declared the offensive a victory, a narrative that has been critically examined by historians like Frances FitzGerald in her 1972 Pulitzer-winning work, "Fire in the Lake: the Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam."

FitzGerald's seminal history, whose manuscript was delivered in 1971, accurately predicted the eventual U.S. defeat and the profound global impact on American prestige, four years before the war officially concluded. A U.S. Army major's stark comment during the Tet Offensive, "We had to destroy the village in order to save it," encapsulates a mindset of extreme measures and questionable justifications that resonate through history.

A disturbing historical precedent for contemporary enforcement actions can be found in the CIA-led Phoenix Program, which operated as a precursor to modern initiatives like Trump's ICE raids. In 1969, the Phoenix Program established a quota to "neutralize" 20,000 NLF members. Official reports from the Government of Vietnam (GVN) subsequently claimed 19,534 NLF agents were "neutralized" that year.

However, the methods employed were often brutal and illegal; at least one-third of those "neutralized" were simply murdered, despite legal provisions only permitting arrest and detention. Torture was a common practice, and comprehensive records detailing the fate of other individuals are unavailable. The program's stated aim was to target "hardcore" NLF cadres, a justification that finds a contemporary echo in the Trump administration's directives for ICE raids.

Much like the Phoenix Program, Trump's ICE raids operated under monthly arrest quotas, purportedly targeting "the worst of the worst." Yet, a significant majority of those apprehended under these directives had no criminal charges pending against them. This disregard for due process and factual accuracy is starkly illustrated by a U.S. officer's response in 1968-69, following a six-month period where the U.S. Ninth Infantry Division reported 11,000 enemy killed and only 700 weapons captured. When questioned about how 10,300 unarmed individuals were identified as communists, the officer simply stated, "They're dead, aren't they?"

The parallels extend to the erosion of public trust in leadership, with both the Johnson and Nixon administrations during Vietnam and the Trump administration facing similar criticisms. Common threads include accusations of dishonesty, corruption, incompetence, a swagger disconnected from actual ability, and a perceived isolation of political leaders from the general populace.

Furthermore, a consistent pattern of historical falsification and information control emerges across both eras. The Trump administration, for instance, ordered the deletion of nearly 400 U.S. government databases, many of which contained crucial data related to health, education, and the environment. This action reflects a broader attempt to control narratives and information.

As FitzGerald observed, "The circle of self-interest created a circle of self-deception that began and ended in the office of the President of the United States," fostering intense resentment against anyone who dared to challenge this self-serving illusion. This environment of distrust and manipulation fueled significant public unrest, from the 1970 Kent State shootings, where four unarmed students were killed and nine wounded during anti-war protests, to the nationwide anti-ICE demonstrations sparked by the killings of U.S. citizens in various locations including Minneapolis, Texas, Virginia, and Maine.

Source: Original reporting via Courthouse News