@Daniel said:

There was a treaty signed by the US with Gorbachev, and in it is the provision that NATO would not be expanded.

Not sure that's entirely accurate.

Some history.

https://www.geopolitika.it/en/the-western-guarantees-to-mikhail-gorbachev-and-nato-expansion-what-was-promised-what-was-implemented-and-what-was-broken/

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?

Russia invaded Ukraine because it was the last contiguous state that had not been, and would have been, made a member of NATO.

To recap-

There was a treaty signed by the US with Gorbachev, and in it is the provision that NATO would not be expanded.

Fast forward to the provision was violated in every way possible.

So, we get to Ukraine.

Russia was not going to, and didn't, accept this last possible violation of the treaty.

Or do you agree with the Russia = Hitler's Germany analogy?

The former is a fact.

The later is a fiction.

This gives new meaning to the expression- "poking the bear".

And still, why are we adding fuel to the fire by paying for the continuation of this war when a) we're perpetuating it by paying for it, b) a great many Americans are experiencing deprivation, and c) the US debt is skyrocketing?

To recap- Vietnam was a false flag. It was a war of aggression, as was the incursion into Cambodia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Tonkin_incident

"Later investigation revealed that the 4 August attack did not happen; no North Vietnamese vessels had been present. Shortly after the events, the National Security Agency, an agency of the US Defense Department, deliberately skewed intelligence to create the impression that an attack had been carried out.[5][6][7]"

So, leaving aside the history of France in Vietnam, Vietnam was invaded by the US. It's that simple.

Vietnam was not and never could have been an existential threat to the US.

If it had been, hypothetically, it would have had zero chance of winning an actual war with the US.

The only thing that happened (and the same with Aphganistan and Russia) is that Vietnam "won" back their countries through attrition.

As an aside, do you think the US had an actual intention to occupy Vietnam on a permanent basis? I don't.

So, we get to Ukraine.

Again, Russia won't occupy Ukraine. It might change the map. But that's different.

So, why is Ukraine attacking Russia as if Ukraine can "win" the war and set the terms for peace?

It's not going to happen.

@Daniel said:

In particular, as I have posted here for years- Ukraine can not now, never could, and never will be able to win a war with Russia.

The afghans did and the Ukrainians have much better technology.