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Is It Possible, Could America Have Won the Vietnam War In '1968?
Article by: Gene Kuentzler '1999 ^ | 3/17/02 | Gene Kuentzler

Posted on 03/17/2002 2:25:49 PM PST by Mom_Grandmother

Is It Possible, Could America Have Won the Vietnam War In '1968?

By '1968, North Vietnamese morale was at it's lowest point ever. The plans for "Tet" '68 was their last desperate attempt to achieve a success, in an effort to boost the NVA morale. When it was over, General Giap (Senior General Vo Njuyen Giap) and NVA viewed the Tet '68 offensive as a "failure", they were on their knees and had prepared to negotiate a "surrender."

At the time, there were fewer than 10,000 U.S. casualties, the Vietnam War was about to end, as the NVA was prepared to accept their defeat. Then, they heard "Walter Cronkite" (former CBS News anchor and correspondent) on TV proclaiming the success of the Tet '68 offensive by the NVA. They were completely and totall amazed at hearing tha the US Embassy had been overrun. In reality, the NVA had not gained access to the Embassy--there were some VC who had been killed on the grassy lawn, but they hadn't gained access. Further reports indicated that riots and protesting on the streets of America.

According to General Giap, these distorted reports were insperational to the NVA. They changed their plans from a negotiated surrender and decided instead, they only needed to persevere for one more hour, day, week, month, eventually the protesters in America would help them to achieve a victory they knew they could not win on the battlefield.

Remember, this decision was made at a time when the U.S. casualties were fewer than 10,000, at the end of '1967, beginning of '1968. Today, there were 58,000 names on the Vietnam Wall Memorial that was built with the donations made by the American public.

Although General Giap did not mention each and every protester's name in his book, many of us will never forget the 58,000 names on the Wall. We will also never forget that names of those who helped in placing those additional 48,000 names there: Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden, Walter Cronkite, and other's.

Gene Kuentzler, '66-67, S-3 Operations 19th Combat Engineer Battalion


TOPICS: Activism/Chapters; Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: protesters; reporting; traitors; vietnam
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To: Mom_Grandmother
We neither won nor lost the war - for the same reason. We were not defeated in battle, so we didn't "lose". We never figured out exactly what our goals were, so it was impossible to meet them and "win".

In short: What's "win"?

201 posted on 03/18/2002 8:48:25 AM PST by lepton
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To: Thorn11cav
If DAV not helping, perhaps VFW? Amer. Legion? A vet can declare one advocate. Vet can change advocate any time.DVA has a form for this procedure-typically...

I was most fortunate in having family members that served in previous wars, insist that I go to VA Hospital for a physical and medical care almost immediately after my discharge. My physical problems were documented by them at that time. It established a baseline, so to speak. I know others (like you) that didn't go to VA for years after discharge. They were greeted with, "WHAT do you want NOW?"

I do believe current DVA Chief is a decent/honorable man who is sincerely TRYING to change the DVA. Will he be successful? I certainly hope so!

202 posted on 03/18/2002 9:14:15 AM PST by donozark
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To: Fred Mertz
How did we win almost every major battle, but end up on the short end of the stick?

Sounds like you weren't there....because if you had been you would know that the war was a political charade and the US armed forces were prohibited from executing the victory. After the bombing stopped--prematurely, I might add--we were not allowed to fight to win.

In the end we were ordered home by politicos who saw their re-elections being more impacted by the likes of Fonda and Cronkite than the true meaning of "Peace with Honor".

203 posted on 03/18/2002 12:21:04 PM PST by O6ret
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To: O6ret
In the end we were ordered home by politicos who saw their re-elections being more impacted by the likes of Fonda and Cronkite than the true meaning of "Peace with Honor".

---------------------------

This was the exact problem. By 1968 our military policy was being run exclusively by leftist street demonstrations, by leftists in the media, by leftists in academia, by leftists in entertainment, and by leftists in politics responding to them. Each of these groups was portrayed as being the dominent voice in America with no credible refutation.

204 posted on 03/18/2002 1:30:19 PM PST by RLK
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To: Thorn11cav
Then 3 years ago went into type 2 diabetes and a heart attack. Now its going into Peripheral Neuropathy..--------

-----------------

Type two, myself. Hereditary condition. It came on me almost to a year of the same age when it hit my father. Blood lipids and cholosterol also hereditary. If you showed any family or other tendency you should have been on aspirin years ago. The best shot you have going for you is a good internist. Zocor, niacin, lopid knock my cholesterol down and my lipids downt from 3900 to 400.

205 posted on 03/18/2002 2:01:07 PM PST by RLK
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Comment #206 Removed by Moderator

To: Tuco-bad
Any suggestions for good, unbiased histories of our involvement in Vietnam?
207 posted on 03/18/2002 3:26:39 PM PST by bluebeowulf
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Comment #208 Removed by Moderator

To: bluebeowulf
Any suggestions for good, unbiased histories of our involvement in Vietnam?

I don't know of any, if you learn of one, please let me know.

209 posted on 03/18/2002 3:47:33 PM PST by Tuco-bad
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To: MoscowMike
Whuuups! There it is!

After 199 posts to this thread you nailed it precisely!

Fact is that there never was a time, from Jan. 1966 - Dec. 1970, when the war couldn't have been definitively won, within 6 months, given the political WILL to do so!

210 posted on 03/18/2002 4:03:22 PM PST by Bigun
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To: bluebeowulf
Any suggestions for good, unbiased histories of our involvement in Vietnam?

"A Bright Shining Lie" which looks at Vietnam through the perspective of John Paul Vann. It is by Neil Sheehan who is on the liberal side but the history is good if you overlook some of his liberal opinions. Often when enough time has elapsed liberals (such as William Shirer) can come up with good histories because nothing is currently at stake.

211 posted on 03/18/2002 6:18:55 PM PST by PJ-Comix
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To: bluebeowulf
Get Bill Colby's "Lost Victory"
212 posted on 03/18/2002 8:57:21 PM PST by RLK
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To: bluebeowulf
UNHERALDED VICTORY by Mark Woodruff
213 posted on 03/19/2002 3:27:46 AM PST by donozark
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To: bluebeowulf
"Fire in the Lake" by Francis Fitzgerald is the BEST!
214 posted on 03/19/2002 4:10:52 AM PST by Bigun
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To: Bigun

We could have won the Vietnam War by creating a Mekong Delta State for the 8 million or so South Vietnamese capitalists, using the Mekong River as a natural and easily defendable border.

See my blog post for how it could have worked:
http://eversmarterworld.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/leadership-foresight-and-security-how-we-should-have-won-the-vietnam-war/

Unfortunately our political and military leadership never learned from the First Indochina War (with the French) that without such a Total Defense Strategy, we were very unlikely to win.


215 posted on 12/12/2013 6:27:39 PM PST by JohnMSmart
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