“We had the Vietnam War won in 1970”
But we lost. “Had it won” is a meaningless phrase when applied to war. We have been defeated now in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan with the same error every time. The war is not over when WE say we’ve won - it’s over when the ENEMY says we’ve won.
Victory is MacArthur getting off a C-47 at Haneda and walking down the main street unmolested. Victory is not evacuating clinging to helicopter skids while saying “unfair! We had it won!”
The enemy did say “You win” in 1970; our government, through its countenance of treason, snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.