From the Atlantic’s lack of editorial judgment in providing a platform for Andrew Sullivan’s vile rants and its hiring Jill Greenberg to shoot the accompanying magazine cover photograph of Senator John McCain, I expected the Atlantic article “The Wars of John McCain” would be an anti-McCain hit piece. Instead, the article was surprisingly good, aside from the assertion that the Swift Boat Veterans [and POWs] for Truth’s criticisms of John Kerry during the 2004 presidential campaign were “unfounded accusations”.

For those unfamiliar with the actual military history (as opposed to the incorrect popular conventional wisdom) of the Vietnam War and the parallels to General David Petraeus’ successful strategy in Iraq, the Atlantic article is an excellent starting point to increase your knowledge. Indeed, I would recommend that somebody on Senator McCain’s staff suggest that Governor Sarah Palin read this article before her debate with Senator Biden. Most Americans, including many self-identified conservatives, simply do not know the actual history of the Vietnam War and how the hard fought victory against the massive North Vietnamese 1972 Easter Offensive was thrown away by the post-Watergate, Democrat-controlled congress in 1974. Beyond the cutoff of American airpower, South Vietnam was denied ammunition, gasoline, and other military supplies needed to defend against the Soviet-supplied tanks and artillery of the North Vietnamese regular army.

Related Trivia Question: does anybody know what the subject of General David Petraeus’ Ph.D. thesis was?

Answer: “The American Military and the Lessons of Vietnam: A Study of Military Influence and the Use of Force in the Post-Vietnam Era”