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WASHINGTON, April 6 (UPI) -- Any seasoned reporter covering the Tet offensive in Vietnam 36 years ago is well over 60 and presumably retired or teaching journalism is one of America's 4,200 colleges and universities. Before plunging into an orgy of erroneous and invidious historical parallels between Iraq and Vietnam, a reminder about what led to the U.S. defeat in Southeast Asia is timely. Iraq will only be another Vietnam if the home front collapses, as it did following the Tet offensive, which began on the eve of the Chinese New Year, Jan. 31, 1968. The surprise attack was designed...

Any seasoned reporter covering the Tet offensive in Vietnam 36 years ago is well over 60 and presumably retired or teaching journalism is one of America's 4,200 colleges and universities. Before plunging into an orgy of erroneous and invidious historical parallels between Iraq and Vietnam, a reminder about what led to the U.S. defeat in Southeast Asia is timely. Iraq will only be another Vietnam if the home front collapses, as it did following the Tet offensive, which began on the eve of the Chinese New Year, Jan. 31, 1968. The surprise attack was designed to overwhelm some 70 cities...

It's no Mogadishu, it's no Tet -- in fact, the ugly, baiting murders in Fallujah and Muqtada al-Sadr's made-for-Tv rebellion may be an extraordinary opportunity for the United States and Iraqi democrats, if the military operations and politics are handled with finesse. As I write this column, elements of the U.S. First Marine Division have surrounded and entered Fallujah, Iraq, the site of last week's murder of four American civilian security agents. Compounding the crime was a Baath fascist replication, in vicious miniature, of the 1993 Mogadishu, Somalia, mutilation of the victims' corpses. It was a PR atrocity. Within days...

Air University Review, November-December 1978 The Press and the TET Offensive a flawed institution under stress Captain Donald M. Bishop The Tet offensive of 1968 must surely be regarded as one of history's chameleon campaigns. When the North Vietnamese and Vietcong troops assaulted targets throughout the Republic of Vietnam at the end of January 1968, they expected to trigger an uprising of the South Vietnamese people against their government. Despite some spectacular early successes, the attacks failed. The South Vietnamese did not embrace the cause; thousands of sappers, assault troops, and cadres met their deaths before overwhelming allied counterattacks; and...

SUICIDE BLAST 'KILLS 18' At least 18 people including two US soldiers were killed after a series of bomb blasts rocked central Baghdad. A massive suicide car bomb exploded outside the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) injuring 22 people and claiming 18 lives.Three more bombs exploded in quick succession outside police around the capital.Three police officers and eight labourers are said to be among the dead while 10 US soldiers were injured in the blasts on the first day of the Muslim holy festival Ramadan.American military officials said a two US soldiers were killed and two...

Iraq & Tet, George W. & LBJ Posted: September 29, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2003 Creators Syndicate, Inc. "Things perceived as real are real in their consequences." So it has been wisely written, and repeated so often it has become a cliche. The Tet Offensive of 1968 was a desperate roll of the dice by the Viet Cong. It ended in their disastrous defeat. Some 50,000 of its critical cadre were killed, and all the gains of Tet were rolled back by the Americans in three weeks. But America, which had been hearing only triumphal news of U.S. victories,...

TET II:An American Recessional?by Christopher J. Barrcbarr@fsrl.comTwenty-eight years ago Saigon fell to the Communists. Although American troop had withdrawn years before, this is credited as the first real American defeat. It traumatized the nation for generations. South Vietnam actually had managed to hold on by itself for quite a while after being abandoned – relying on the U.S. primarily for fuel and ammunition. So American Leftists in Congress, exploiting administration weakness after Watergate, set up the coup de gras. They cut off even that limited aid. No more fuel; no more bullets. The North Vietnamese Army launched a general offensive....

<p>Six weeks ago, one of the most brilliant observers of our time wrote an essay calling to mind a sorry chapter in American history and warning of its possible repetition in the present conflict in Iraq.</p> <p>The article, written by John O'Sullivan at the end of July, was entitled "Remember Tet Offensive: Déja Vu." It raised the prospect that we are in danger of allowing defeat to be snatched from decisive American victory over Saddam Hussein's regime -- just as was done 35 years ago by our North Vietnamese and Vietcong enemies. This concern is especially warranted in the wake of Secretary of State Colin Powell once again persuading President Bush that the United States should seek help on Iraq from, of all places, the United Nations.</p>

'Remember the Tet Offensive" is the mantra I've been repeating to myself as gloomy media accounts of the deepening U.S quagmire in Iraq crowded the airwaves and news pages. For the benefit of those who remember Tet only fitfully or not at all, it was the 1968 uprising by the communist Vietcong across Vietnam that brought guerrilla warfare to the gates of the U.S. Embassy. It was a dramatic escalation of the war, but it was also a severe defeat for the Vietcong. South Vietnam's population failed to rally to the Vietcong's standard; the Vietcong carried out mass murders of...

Dear Lord, There's a young man far from home, called to serve his nation in time of war; sent to defend our freedom on some distant foreign shore. We pray You keep him safe, we pray You keep him strong, we pray You send him safely home ... for he's been away so long. There's a young woman far from home, serving her nation with pride. Her step is strong, her step is sure, there is courage in every stride. We pray You keep her safe, we pray You keep her strong, we pray You send her safely home...

<p>The decisive battle in the war to depose Saddam Hussein will soon begin. American and British troops are fighting their way toward Baghdad, slowed by harsh desert storms and unexpected fierce resistance from Iraqi guerrillas.</p> <p>The toughest challenges of combat lay ahead in the streets and alleyways of Baghdad's urban sprawl, roughly the size of Los Angeles.</p>

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. We hope to provide an ongoing source of information about issues and problems that are specific to Veterans and resources that are available to Veterans and their families. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood...

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. We hope to provide an ongoing source of information about issues and problems that are specific to Veterans and resources that are available to Veterans and their families. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood...