I have studied battles and wars from the Peloponnese to our current battles with the Taliban and Isis. Every war has mistakes in tactics and strategy which cost the lives of many soldiers. Some mistakes are so bad it cost them a victory. Many mistakes have been because of bad leadership – either by the generals or the country’s leaders. The bigger the war, the bigger the consequences from a mistake.

Thousands died in the Civil War from bad tactical decisions. Hundreds of thousands in World Wars I and II from battles that should never have been attempted.

Setting aside whether or not we should have been in Viet Name, the was badly managed. General Westmoreland was a poor choice to command it. That was evident in 1967 but he wasn’t sacked (He was bumped up) for two more years.

President Johnson’s strategy of trying to keep it low key and directing the war from the White House cost lives and perhaps the war’s outcome. For instance, the planes that bombed North Viet Nam had to use the same entrance and exit points day after day so North Viet Nam piled their anti-aircraft weapons in those corridors.

To a great extent the current battle of words between Trump and Kim reminds me of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Nasser’s big mouth caused Meir to attack before the Egyptian army could jump off.

The sanctions against North Korea remind me of our sanctions against Japan in 1941. I am sure others started by too much chest thumping and poorly conceived sanctions.

Knowing what has went on in the past causes me great concern. Boxing a country into a corner often starts a war neither wanted. Giving Iran a fair deal, avoiding a terrible war and giving North Korea a fair deal will save millions of lives and trillions of dollars.