Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Vietnam vs. ‘Star Wars’: I suspect it was the war we had versus the war we wanted

What is the relationship between the Vietnam War and “Star Wars”?

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23157308516_8c517a0b72_h

What is the relationship between the Vietnam War and “Star Wars”?

What is the relationship between the Vietnam War and “Star Wars”?

There is one. Even if you and I don’t like it. Vietnam was the war we had. It was hot, wet and messy. Jungles. “Star Wars” was the war we wanted. It was cold, remote and technological.  Cool, quiet space. In it, we were the good guys, the rebels. We were not the ones operating Death Stars.

Btw, the next time you watch “Apocalypse Now,” look at the colonel who serves the general his beef. It is Harrison Ford. And his nametag? “Lucas.” I feel a disturbance in the constitutional universe. (And yes, little grasshopper,  I know that the original plan was for Lucas to direct “Apocalypse Now.”)

Speaking of films, I get the feeling that a lot of Westerns were half film noir in themselves.

Image: “Apocalypse Now”/quapan/Flickr

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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