Maddow was completely correct. And it's a shame you guys can't put aside your partisanship to see that.
I generally don't care for Rachel Maddow because her style annoys me. But she often is quite correct and this is one of those times. The Professor is right, too, and the only possible arguments against his position are rooted in rabid, pseudo-patriotic fanaticism.
As a protester of the Vietnam debacle I frequently was subjected to the same kind of "Marxist" and "un-American" insults, along with all the nonsense that goes with that kind of ignorant, blindly chauvinistic reasoning. But after 58,000 dead, hundreds of thousands more maimed and disfigured and enough wasted treasure to educate a hundred generations, the final outcome has been realization and admission that it was a big mistake. There was no need for us to be there. The fighting in Vietnam did not, nor could it, benefit the U.S. in any way. It was entirely without valid purpose.
One major difference between our armed presence in Vietnam and our armed presence in the Middle East is most of the troops in Vietnam were conscripted but
all of those who are being wasted in the Middle East volunteered. And those who truly believed their service in Iraq and/or Afghanistan has anything to do with preserving America's freedom are either deluded, or are stupid, or simply need to justify their action. The fact is except for the benefits accruing to certain corporate interests, with emphasis on the oil industry and the Military Industrial Complex, there is no identifiable reason for our troops to be killing and dying in the Middle East.
This is not World War Two, so anyone who has had the idea pumped into his/her brain by corporate propaganda machinery that the troops in the Middle East are defending our freedom needs to do a little reading. And I suggest they start with a book by former Marine Corps General "Chesty" Puller, called
War Is A Racket! It is a good beginning of an essential education and it's available from Amazon.
As for those who are wrapped in flags and carrying crosses and will attack what I've had to say here, I'm telling you in advance to go to the same hell to which you happily consign young Americans with your imaginary "wars." They aren't wars, they are capitalist adventures which have absolutely nothing to do with preserving freedom or protecting America.
Smarten up and stop jerking yourselves and each other off.