Posted on 05/02/2005 5:52:58 PM PDT by CHARLITE
THE Vietnam War is universally regarded as a disaster for what it did to the American and Vietnamese people. However, 30 years after the war's end, the reasons for its outcome remain a matter of dispute.
The most popular explanation among historians and journalists is that the defeat was a result of American policy makers' cold-war-driven misunderstanding of North Vietnam's leaders as dangerous Communists. In truth, they argue, we were fighting a nationalist movement with great popular support. In this view, "our side," South Vietnam, was a creation of foreigners and led by a corrupt urban elite with no popular roots. Hence it could never prevail, not even with a half-million American troops, making the war "unwinnable."
This simple explanation is repudiated by powerful historical evidence, both old and new...we need to recognize what a profoundly ideological and aggressive totalitarian regime we faced three, four and five decades ago. And out of respect for the evidence of history, we need to recognize what happened in the 1970's and why.
In 1974-75, the United States snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Hundreds of thousands of our Vietnamese allies were incarcerated, and more than a million driven into exile. The awesome image of the United States was diminished, and its enemies were thereby emboldened, drawing the United States into new conflicts by proxy in Afghanistan, Africa and Latin America. And the bitterness of so many American war veterans, who saw their sacrifices so casually demeaned and unnecessarily squandered, haunts American society and political life to this day.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Democrats.
Char:)
The Socialist/Communist Left is trying to aid the terrorists in the war on terror in the same way that they aided the Communists in Vietnam. We have pinhead civilians who hate this country and our military who are out there telling the military how to conduct interrogations of monsters who are trying to kill us. Until we develop the testicular fortitude to stand up to the pot smoking, maggot infested Commies, we'll always fall victim to the so-called "Vietnam syndrome." It is none of these terrorist-loving maggots business what we do to interrogate people who are trying to kill us and destroy our country. We need to stand up to them and, like Bubba, tell them to "kiss it." If these so-called anti-war protestors are so concerned about the health and welfare of terrorist buddies, I recommend they suit up and join them in their war to kill Americans.
This is totally true, and history will show it to be so.
The MSM, and to some extent the military itself at the time, misunderstood this as a popular insurgency, even as the NVA had 300K hard core regulars in the field. This was, in fact, a fairly conventional war, fought on extremely difficult jungle terrain with tactics that had not yet had a chance to evolve to the threat.
Ultimately, it was NVA tanks crashed the gates of Saigon in '75. Timid LBJ leadership and tremendous social and political change lost this war on the home front.
We are still too close to this war. Once the pain has past, it will be easier for historians and the country to embrass this emerging reality and take responsibility for it.
Char :)
The author overlooked the part Catholic vs. Buddhist played in this war. The first wave of refugees to arrive in the US were Catholics, never the majority in Viet Nam.
I will not register to read the rest of this story but my first thought is 'what have the done with the real New york Times?'
Here is a fabulous tribute to our veterans. It is a new website with photos of the WWII Memorial in D.C. and great patriotic music.
ping
"Victory Denied:Why your son faces death in No-Win Wars"
by Major Arch E.Roberts ,Committee to Restore the Constitution,Howes at Oak Ft.Collins Colorado 80521,1966
The man who helped program the Citizen Soldier Code Blue
training that we still recieved fragments of in 1969
makes a compelling case,as to WHY we did not win them
S.E.Asian War Games.InSept.of 1961 the other JFK (the one
who was President) Had a State Dept. Document 7277 Living at
Peace in a world without War Plan to surrender American
sovereignty to the Extra Constitutional United Nations That
global entity that reflects the USSR in structure and goals. Too many Americans prefer to believe the LIE that we
are yet Free and that nation established 1776-1791.They are the blind leading the blind .
bump
There were a lot of real culprits. The South's government was corrupt; our government was never really serious about winning - only about not losing; our tactics were frequently faddish; an emphasis on military management rather than military leadership alienated the troops; bright pronouncements of impending victory which went on for years led to disillusion at home... and it has to be said, the NVA was stubborn enough and good enough to take advantage of our shortcomings.
If we could have won the war we would have. But wars are between cultures and at the time our culture just wasn't good enough.
And every time we were close to winning, we stopped the B52s.
If they had the same majorities as they had then, they would do the exact same thing to this country and our troops, both in Afghanistan and in Iraq. I have no illusions about that matter. They would allow those countries to sink into chaos, murder, beheadings in soccer stadiums..........and they'd blame the mess they created on Bush and Republicans.
bump
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.