Mistakes were made in the Vietnam War, and we should learn from them, but the mistakes are not necessarily what people might first think. Here are the big ones.
1) Politization: When we use a war to separate the parties within the US, we are making a huge mistake. The war started out being a split within the Democrat party between the anti-war youth and the older more conservative Democrats who started and expanded the war. Once Nixon was elected, it became a Democrat vs Republican issue and took on a similar slant to what we are seeing today. People using the war as a blunt instrument to attack their political opponent.
2) Media Antagonism: Rather than support our troops as the media did during WW2, we saw (and again see) the media turn against our own troops. While this war started out OK with embedded reporters demonstrating the bravery and skill of our troops, they now embed themselves with the enemy. They show endless re-runs of Abu Graib and undermine the morale of our troops.
3) Political Management of Military Actions: Because of items 1 and 2 above, military leaders find themselves making tactical plans that are more concerned about political ramifications than military ones. In Vietnam, we would lose good men to take a hill so it could be announced as a victory on the evening news, only to relinquish it the next day as it had no military value. Today we see ourselves surrounding militia in a Mosque, and then dropping back to avoid political haymaking that would assuredly appear if we were to scratch its golden dome. This will paralyze our leaders and demoralize our fighters.
The Kerry folks think the mistake in Vietnam was fighting at all, I think the mistake was NOT WINNING. By letting the fight drag on, we lost the moral imperative and the decisive military ability to win.
We should publically state that we will not allow mosques or any other shrine to be used as a haven and then flatten them if they get in one.
Your #14. Spot on!