Kerry Claims Vietnam War Result of ‘Profound Failure of Diplomatic Insight’

The Vietnam war, which lasted for over ten years from 1964 to 1975, killed about 3 million Vietnamese and over 58,000 US citizens, as well as many people from other countries, including Cambodia and Laos.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Failed US diplomacy and political vision led to the Vietnam War nearly half a century ago, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday during his trip to Vietnam.

“The war that took place here half a century ago divided each of our countries and it stemmed from the most profound failure of diplomatic insight and political vision,” Kerry said.

US Army investigators secretly confirmed over 300 war crimes committed by the US military, including murder, torture, rape, corpse mutilation and indiscriminate fire in civilian areas, according to the Crimes of War Education Project.

Kerry, a veteran of the Vietnam war, said that today the “process of moving on and healing and restoring our diplomatic ties is not about forgetting.” He added, if “we forget, we cease to learn.”

“The tragedy of what happened here should be a constant reminder of the horror and the suffering that war inflicts,” Kerry said.

The US Secretary of State’s remarks come as he wraps up his travel to the Middle East and Asia where he participated in dialogue forums with leaders from Egypt, Qatar, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.