"Teach a man to fish..."

In this commentary comparing Iraq and Vietnam, this article tells what we did wrong back then, and what we're doing right, now:

First, we took away their pride and sense of self-sufficiency and gave them the impression that we felt ourselves to be superior, generous entities who would solve their difficulties.Second, we failed to educate them for when they would have to take care of themselves. We failed to heed the old parable “Give a man a fish and he eats for one day. Teach him to fish and he eats for the rest of his life.”

The writer interviewed about 60 former Vietnam vets who currently are in Iraq:

11 are still in uniform -- three colonels, five lieutenant colonels, two master sergeants, and one warrant officer five.The others are federal employees or contractors. Their tours of duty in Iraq range from six months to more than 18. They are today, as they were in Vietnam, a diverse lot.