VietNamNet Bridge – Being elected for the second term, US President Barack Obama has decided to appoint some veterans of the Vietnam War to the most important positions in his cabinet: the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense.

U.S. President Obama and John Kerry. Photo: bostonglobe

Obama nominated John Kerry and Chuck Hagel to the top position of the two most important departments of state and defense. Both participated in the war in Vietnam, were injured in Southeast Asia and when they returned home, they are skeptical about the US’ adventurism abroad.

Both witnessed the severity of the war and when they stepped out of the war, their stance is directed to anti-war.

Mr. Hagel is considered as a supporter of rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan. Whether he used to support U.S. to send troops to Iraq, but later, Hagel strongly protested and criticized the way to carry out the war by the Bush administration. He used to call the plan of President George W. Bush of sending an additional of 30,000 troops to Iraq as "the most dangerous incident in foreign policy since the Vietnam War."

For John Kerry, who was nominated as the Secretary of State, the years in Vietnam taught him the painful lesson that he will never forget. In battles, John Kerry saw many people being die because of the wrong decision of Washington and he decided to oppose the war.

Returning to the U.S. in the early 70s, Kerry was highly appreciated by the public as the head of a group of anti-Vietnam War veterans. In 1971, he appeared before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee for a hearing on his views on the Vietnam War.

The question by Kerry: "How can you ask a man to die for a mistake?" became the most quoted saying in the articles about him. In this speech, Kerry condemned the acts of murder of American soldiers in Vietnam. After the hearing, President Nixon had to admit: "This guy is really effective" and ordered adviser Halderman to prevent U.S. troops killing Vietnamese civilians.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Chuck Hagel. Photo: Newyorker

"They will be the last Vietnam War veterans with responsibility and power," Julian Zelizer, a historian at Princeton University, said.

Sean Kay, a professor of international relations at the Ohio Wesleyan University said, both of them can change the way the US uses the military as well as the foreign policy.

Obama said as he announced his decision to choose Hagel: "Hagel understands that sending American youth to fight and shed blood in the dust and dirt will be made only when it is really urgent."

As for Kerry nomination, the president said: "He understands that we are responsible in the use of American power wisely, especially military power."

Mr. Hagel, 66, is the Chairman of the intelligence advisory council to the president. Previously, he was a Nebraska state senator from 1997 to 2009. He is a veteran and was wounded during the war in Vietnam.

John Kerry, after graduating from Yale University in 1966, was sent to Vietnam as a naval lieutenant, commander of a patrol ship in the Mekong sub-region. He is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for nearly 30 years and has been the chairman of this committee for the past four years. Kerry is also highly appreciated on the international stage and frequently travels abroad on behalf of the Obama administration as a "mediator" and healer.

Compiled by Thai An