[Rameumptom]

Actually militarily there were problems too. Not from the soldiers. But from the rules of engagment by the politicians. Hanoi and other large cities were no go zones for bombing. So the NVA put their Air Force and AA in big cities which we did not target and thus we never fully won the air war. High altitude bombers were not allowed to bomb (to minimize "civilian casualties") but smaller bombers were that had to fly low and were susceptible to AA fire.

Gen. Omar Bradley - "Amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics."

We never cut of the logistical line from China and Russia(The Ho Chi Min trail was from China through Laos and Cambodia). As long as weapons continue to come in the enemy will be able to fight.

The State Dept. was busy supplying Truck factories and millions in food "AID" to Russia which in turn supplied weapons and trucks to the NVA. (We were at War with ourselves.)

The Communists wouldn't agree to a cease fire right near the end of the War so Nixon finally let the big high altitude bombers go in over Christmas and target Hanoi. The Communists quickly agreed to a cease fire. If he would have allowed it years before we could have crushed them.

Nixon kow-towed and offically opened relations with China in 1972 when we "lost."

Limited wars don't work out so well. Unfortunately right now Iran is supplying and fueling the Iraq war. unless we cut of the lines logistically the fighting will continue.

Oh another lesson from Viet Nam the communists didn't keep their "Cease Fire" and promptly invaded the South when we left.

[Rhiannon]

I agree with what you say, I did not want to go into a long analysis on the flaws of Vietnam.

[ChiMark]

Another leason oft ommitted is the failure of the democrats to
fund Vietnam after we left.
The likes of Teddy "the swimmer" Kennedy refused to honor
our committment to supply military and medicine after Nixon left office.
That defeat rests on the radical left in this country.
How many Cambodians , Vietnamese died after the fall 2 million?

Never again was the cry of the Jewish holocaust and now the American left once again refuses to face up to another facist regime.

Never again?

[jclimacus]

It's interesting to note how militaristic minds find only military solutions to the world's problems.

Our loss in Viet-Nam (and I served during that period) was in large part due to the lack of morale among the troops, caused in large part because we had NO true sense of what we were fighting for ("democracy, freedom" and other propaganda flags were not enough), and NO exit strategy; much as we now have in Iraq.

You cannot expect an occupying army to continually fight a guerrilla war against a population that, in large part, DOES NOT WANT YOU IN THEIR COUNTRY!

Would Americans suffer an occupying army on their own turf? Hell NO!

We shouldn't think that people of other countries, regardless of their religious persuasion, would tolerate anything less than a removal of an occupying army AS SOON AS POSSIBLE; but we SHOULD EXPECT that they will defend their own nationalist aspirations, and quickly show us the door out of their country -- by public demonstration and BY FORCE if necessary.

No self-respecting American would do anything less to an occupying army in their own country.