The last Americans and their local mercenaries crowded on the roof their embassy in Saigon, fighting in despair for a seat in the last helicopters. A kind of aerial Fatimah gate. Everybody remembers that.
Wise people learn from the experience of others.
We were not wise. Neither were we wise in January 1985, when we were forced to flee from the Shiite guerillas in South Lebanon. We could have gone all the way to the border fence. Soon after, it became clear that this was a terrible mistake. At the time, we could still leave in a dignified way.