On Sat, 14 Jan 2006 13:16:29 GMT, Nick Hull
wrote:
In article ,
Gunner wrote:
On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 17:40:54 -0600, Jon Elson
wrote:
Back in 1968, I knew something had gone terribly wrong in Vietnam, even
before there was anything on the news about the Tet offensive, because we
lived a dozen blocks from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. All of
a sudden, one morning, CH-47 helicopters started buzzing over our house
every 15 minutes all day. We usually had 3 flights a week back then.
News seems a lot harder to come by, now!
Jon
You mean the Tet Offensive that the Leftist Media portrayed as a
terrible defeat for the US, when in actuality..it spelled the
decimation of the Viet Cong, and would have forced the North to terms,
if it wasnt for the Media giving them much needed support?
That would not have forced the North to terms, the loss of people was of
no concern to them. Insurgents are willing to take losses forever and
will fight another hundred years to get unconditional victory.
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Ca...erals/giap.htm
Gen. Giap planned and directed the military operations against the
French that culminated in their defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu
in 1954. During the 1960's Giap controlled guerrilla operations
against South Vietnam and the United States and planned the Tet
Offensive of 1968.
In his book, Giap clearly indicated that NVA troops were without
sufficient supplies, and had been continually defeated time and again.
By 1968, NVA 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 and the
NVA viewed the Tet '68 offensive as a failure, they were on their
knees and had prepared to negotiate a surrender.
At that 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 communist NVA. They were completely and totally amazed at
hearing that 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 the riots and protesting on the streets of America.
According to Giap, these distorted reports were inspirational 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 American 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.
http://www.jfednepa.org/mark%20silve...re_nation.html
For many that recall the Vietnam era, this approach is deja vu. In a
recent article in the Washington Times, Arnaud de Borchgrave noted
that during the Vietnam War, General Giap relied on the American peace
movement to weaken American resolve. That had the effect of turning an
American military victory into a political defeat. Former North
Vietnamese General Staff officer Bui Tin once said that the peace
movement was "essential to our strategy." In America, the open support
of Hanoi by Jane Fonda, former Attorney General Ramsey Clark (now head
of International ANSWER, which coordinates the largest protests) and
others "gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of
battlefield reverses," Bui Tin said. "Through dissent and protest,"
the US "lost the ability to mobilize a will to win."
As a result, the surprise 1968 Tet Offensive (which involved suicidal
attacks by the Viet Cong in some 70 cities and towns, and 30 other
strategic objectives simultaneously) turned the political tide of the
war against America and eventually led to the protest movement that
(in turn) led to the American defeat in Vietnam. From a military
perspective, it is important to note that the Tet Offensive was a
singularly unmitigated disaster both for Hanoi and for its Viet Cong
troops in South Vietnam. Not one of the objectives of the Viet Cong in
that Offensive was achieved. Yet, it proved to be a major turning
point in the war.
Being the first major "television war," Americans watched the carnage
in horror and concluded (incorrectly) that it was a military disaster
for America. One of America's most trusted newsmen, CBS's Walter
Cronkite, even appeared for a standup piece with distant fires as a
backdrop. Donning a helmet, Cronkite declared the war lost. Eugene
McCarthy carried New Hampshire and Bobbie Kennedy stepped forward to
challenge the policies of an already distraught President. Six weeks
later, Lyndon Johnson, in the midst of national protest, announced
that he would not seek re-election. His ratings had plummeted to 30
percent after Tet. Approval of his handling of the war had dropped to
20 percent. He had concluded that the war was unwinnable.
In the end, American support for the Vietnam War faded. Giap admitted
in his memoirs that news media reporting of the war and the antiwar
demonstrations that ensued in America surprised him. Instead of
negotiating what he called a "conditional surrender," Giap said they
would now go the limit because America's resolve was weakening and the
possibility of complete victory was within Hanoi's grasp.
The aim of untold millions is to be free to do exactly as they choose
and for someone else to pay when things go wrong.
In the past few decades, a peculiar and distinctive psychology
has emerged in England. Gone are the civility, sturdy independence,
and admirable stoicism that carried the English through the war years
.. It has been replaced by a constant whine of excuses, complaints,
and special pleading. The collapse of the British character has been
as swift and complete as the collapse of British power.
Theodore Dalrymple,