#58. The “Vietnam Moment” In Ukraine Is Near

After 4.5 years of Proxy-War something is breaking: When the cracks in the pro-war narrative get so large that even Neocons have to admit the empire is running out of munition, an inflection point has been reached. And we have seen this before. What David Gibbs calls the “Vietnam ¹Moment” is not far away anymore.

In this talk, professor David Gibbs of the University of Arizona discusses his trip to the Baltics ², arguing that anti-Russian feeling is widespread and that Russian-speaking minorities face exclusion. He and Pascal Lottaz compare Western messaging on Ukraine with Vietnam, debate the political costs of a setback, and discuss how culture-war language ³ can be used to support military intervention.

Links:
David N. Gibbs: https://dgibbs.arizona.edu/

Neutrality Studies Substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com
Neutrality Studies YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudies

Timestamps:
00:00:00 Baltic Russophobia and Russian minorities ⁴
00:08:45 Russophobia, stereotypes and racism
00:14:15 Ukraine and a second Vietnam moment
00:26:28 EU elites, war narratives and crisis
00:32:03 Can a new anti-war coalition emerge?
00:42:51 What if Russia does not break?
00:49:00 Accountability, defeat and escalation
00:59:41 Where to find David Gibbs

Footnotes

1. The Vietnam War (1954–1975) was a Cold War conflict pitting communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the United States. It resulted in over 58,000 U.S. deaths, deep American societal division, and the 1976 unification of Vietnam under communist rule.
   1. Britannica – Vietnam War 1954–1975 https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War
   2. History – Vietnam War https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war
   3. History – Vietnam War Timeline https://www.history.com/videos/vietnam-war-timeline
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2. Baltics: The Baltic states are three countries in northeastern Europe on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea: Estonia (capital: Tallinn), Latvia (capital: Riga), and Lithuania (capital: Vilnius). They share close regional ties, democratic governments, and membership in the European Union and NATO.
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3. Cognitive Warfare. Posts:
   #32. NATO’s Cognitive Warfare
   #34. Dr. Tögel: State Terrorism and Cognitive Warfare – Understanding Propaganda
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4. More about western Russophobia, and ethnic Russians in not Russian nations:
   #56. The majority of people living in Ukraine are ethnic Russians
   #57. Patrik Baab: “Is Russophobia a form of racism?”
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