McCain Fears Iraqi "Tet Offensive"

Associated Press ^ | February 12, 2007 | JOAN LOWY

[presidio9]

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Sen. John McCain said Monday he fears an offensive by Iraqi insurgents similar to the Tet Offensive by the Viet Cong that sent U.S. casualties soaring in Vietnam nearly 40 years ago.

The Arizona Republican and likely presidential candidate also said in an Associated Press interview that lapses remain in U.S. intelligence as the nation assesses a potential nuclear threat from Iran.

In defending President Bush's proposed troop surge in Iraq, McCain said it's not the American presence in Iraq that troubles Americans, it's the number of casualties and the possibility that they could escalate.

"By the way, a lot of us are also very concerned about the possibility of a, quote, 'Tet Offensive,' you know, some large-scale tact that could then switch American public opinion the way that the Tet Offensive did," McCain said.

Tet, a massive 1968 invasion of South Vietnam by Communist North Vietnamese, inflicted enormous losses on American and South Vietnamese troops and is regarded as the point when U.S. public sentiment turned sharply against the war.

McCain was in Virginia to address a gathering of potential supporters.

___

[somemoreequalthanothers]

McCain deserves two threads to be bashed for this.

[smoothsailing]

here's some good history...

THE BLOOD ON KERRY'S HANDS and now McCain if he keeps this crap up.

[D-fendr]

We kicked butt in Nam.

What we have to fear is the media offensive.

[KC_Conspirator]

But you see, the Tet Offensive was a horrible defeat for the communists, so much that it took years of rebuilding to make the communists an effective fighting force. This was openly admitted by Gen. Giap. However, hate America liars, like Walter Cronkite, declared it an American loss.

[presidio9]

I wonder what percentage of Americans at this point even know that the Tet Offensive was actually a victory for us.

[smonk]

not enough, that's for sure.

[tobyhill]

The elections this last November was not about killing too many innocent women and children in Iraq, it was about not killing enough terrorist in Iraq because wimpy politicians were obstructing. The MSM may not realize it but they don't have the amount of influence they had in Vietnam. If the Republicans would stand tall and tell the CIC to take the kid gloves off, they got his back, our military can unleash such hell on the terrorist they'll be begging for the next ticket out of Iraq and this thing will be over before long. The American people want one of two things of Iraq, a decisive victory over the terrorist or leave.

[presidio9]

Not John McCain, from the sound of things.

[ladtx]

Tet, a massive 1968 invasion of South Vietnam by Communist North Vietnamese, inflicted enormous losses on American and South Vietnamese troops ...

Come on Joan how about a little perspective on those enormous losses

Tet Offensive, Vietnam War (29 Jan.- mid-Feb 1968): 56 000
Gilbert, History of the Twentieth Century (during Tet Offensive and the month following)
Vietcong: as many as 50,000
US: 2,000
South VN soldiers: 4,000
[TOTAL: 56,000]
News & Record (Greensboro, NC: 28 March 2004)
NLF + NVA: 45,000
SVN: 2,788
US: 1,536
[TOTAL: 49,324]
Wikipedia
NLF + NVA: 35,000
SVN + US: 3,900
US: 1,100
[TOTAL: 38,900]

The MSM needs to get a grip on reality.

[ASOC]

I know of hundreds, served with 'em, as a matter of fact.

Besides, Tet is, like, a holiday in the Far East. Since just about every day seems to be a hadji holy day, when would they make the big push?

[SheLion]

[presidio9]

It is MSM Gospel that we abandoned LBJ's sure-fire plan, and got our asses handed to us during Tet. This led to Richard Nixon personally breaking into the Watergate Hotel and killing two security guards while he was there. I am reading this in my nephew's History Social Studies textbook right now.

[rocksblues]

I guess McClame missed the fact that the TeT Offensive failed every where except with the Media here at home!

[editor-surveyor]

Apparently McLame was so busy spilling info to his captors that he missed the fact that NV lost the Tet defensive badly.

[dandiegirl]

If we could ever get rid of these Viet Nam era congressmen and journalists we might could actually get something accomplished. They are all stuck in Viet Nam.

[FateAmenableToChange]

This would actually be the best possible outcome for the U.S., since Tet was a military disaster for the NVA and the Viet Cong. Only Walter Cronkite and Mike Wallace made this a communist victory.

If the Iraqi insurgents did a Tet-style offensive, we could expect to break their military capability for the next two or three years.

[My2Cents]

Correct. The so-called "quagmire," whether in Vietnam or now in Iraq, is mainly a political quagmire, produced not by the success of insurgents, but by the characterizations of the effort as "defeat" by the mainstream media.

[river rat]

McCain was very seriously and permanently effected by his POW experience -- and apparently is STILL suffering from the experience..

Either that -- or the Communists have some VERY damaging video tape in their possession...

Nothing else explains a Senator acting as he does.

Semper Fi

[river rat]

"...you know, some large-scale tact that could then switch American public opinion the way that the Tet Offensive did," McCain said."

He means the SAME forces that defeated us in Vietnam:
- Congress
- The Press and it "most trusted" journalist --- Cronkite.
- Draft Dodging and Military Service fearing punks
- The Communists within
- The typical 40% of the population that are wrong about anything at any given moment..

Semper Fi