[Jim Noble]

it was emphasized to us over and over that the villagers were the focus of our war, the reason we were there

God bless all who served, but if you want a one-sentence analysis of why we lost, there it is.

[blueunicorn6]

Ahhhhh.....nuclear weapons and Grand Strategy.

Once the war in Korea came to a halt, the communists (Soviet Union, China) could focus on Vietnam. They ran France out.

The problem was always the stupidity of the Vietnamese people. They believed the communists. They suffered horribly so the communists can ride in limousines and the people can work for $100 a month.

[ThanhPhero]

And ultimately, we didn't really lose it strategically. Việt Nam is the closest thing to a useful ally in the region that we have. If we had a Nixon or a Reagan or a Clinton as president Việt Nam would be eager for status as an American protectorate They are wary of Obama, tough. The people love Americans. They have the sort of government- authoritarian- that is to be expected in a clan based culture. South Korea is the only such culture that has ever broken out of that mould to develop a democracy that works past the 2nd election. Japan had such imposed on totally a broken society and so it works there. At the household level the government impinges on people's lives somewhat less than does our government here.