[docmcb]

No way ever to know, of course, but USA had a jillion times more industry than VietNam. Will to keep fighting is the key. Hard to say how close the North was to giving up, but Lincoln thought for a while that he wouldn't be reelected in1864.

[uncbuck]

True about Vietnam, but the Russkies and China did and still do have quite the industrial capabilities. I've also read that when Nixon decided to actually bomb Hanoi, Ho Chi Mihn was thinking of a truce.
One other thing, the USA did not lose in 'Nam, There is a McDonalds serving Coca-Cola in Hanoi. There isn't a better symbol of AMERICAN CAPITALISM than that!