As the world slides into an avoidable war in the Middle East, I am reminded of another avoidable war: Vietnam. Canada was involved in the Vietnam War in many ways, including being part of a multi-lateral force that tried but failed to avoid the war; weaponry we made in Canada (including Napalm and Agent Orange) that we sold to the US for use in the war; 20,000 Canadians that fought in American uniforms; 30,000 war evaders who fled north to Canada; and the thousands of post-war refugees who settled in Canada. I wrote The Devil’s Trick: How Canada Fought the Vietnam War about all of that.

Recently, I was invited to participate in an American podcast about Canada’s involvement in the Vietnam War. You can listen through the link below.

Bonus Episode: Canadian Historian John Boyko

Meanwhile, here we go again with America initiating an avoidable war and Canada trying to determine its role in it. History doesn’t really repeat itself, but it rhymes.