[Servant of the 9]

The military did not lose the war. Washington did.

Yes, but Westmoreland should have resigned rather than accept suicidally stupid orders.

SO9

[kilowhskey]

"Yes, but Westmoreland should have resigned rather than accept suicidally stupid orders."

If that premise is to be accepted, then Generals Harold K. Johnson and Earle Wheeler and their service counterparts in the other three branches should also have done so.

[american spirit]

I was at a meeting in Dallas a few years ago and one of Westmoreland's inner circle was the guest speaker and he said that Westmoreland was furious with Washington over orders to continually forward to the UN future battle plans.....didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that those plans were quickly made available to Communist contacts within the UN and forwarded to NV.

[cynicom]

I am old enough to remember vividly watch MacArthur swaying in the wind during 1942, waiting for help that FDR had no intention of sending.

War plan Orange called for immediate help to be sent to the Philippines after a Japanese attack. FDR instead chose to muster troops for a war in Africa. MacArthur did not quit, resign or publicly complain. His men were left to die or be captured.

Any general worth his salt knows full well he is at the whim of politicians in Washington.