Headscratchers / Apocalypse Now

• Would one Colonel, no matter how charismatic and skilled, really be enough to disrupt the effort of a war machine as powerful as the American military? The Generals seem to think that Colonel Kurtz is a threat to their operations, but the only thing Kurtz' overt actions are going to reveal is that America has a presence in Laos and Cambodia when they are only supposed to be operating in Vietnam. At worst the Communists will just get a little angrier than they already are, but who gives a shit? They hate you and want you out of their territory already so it isn't like one Colonel is really going to make a difference. Besides what makes the whole affair even more pointless is that the Vietnam War didn't even end in our favor, the death of Colonel Kurtz was entirely irrelevant in the long run!
  • The movie takes place in 1970, they really didn't know they would draw from the war five year later. They obviously didn't act on facts only viewers know. And saying that the only consequence would be communists getting a bit angrier is really shortsighted. Firstly, it would fuel propaganda in Communist countries (look at what the bad bad America is doing in a neutral country), which would be a blow to the US Cold War efforts. Secondly, it's not just their enemies who would get angry but their allies too (I know the US pretty much wipe their butt with the UN but still). And probably most importantly, the war was already losing support of the US public, this would really not help the army agenda.
• Whilst it's possible their job is only to drop off Willard. Surely special forces would have a better boat crew to escort the captain to his destination?
  • Those Sailors are swcc. They are a special operations group, and one of their jobs is to deliver and extract Navy Seals and green berets via river boat.