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>The US handily won the Vietnam war, full stop. >In classical terms is was a clear and unambiguous outright victory. The only measure of success is whether or

>The US handily won the Vietnam war, full stop. >In classical terms is was a clear and unambiguous outright victory. The only measure of success is whether or not you accomplish your objectives. The US did not accomplish its objectives in Vietnam of keeping a US-friendly government in power. Regardless of tactical measures of success, the US failed in its strategic objectives. I agree that popular culture has not accurately portrayed the Vietnam conflict, but saying that the US won in Vietnam is completely untrue.

sonnyblarney 8y ago
" The US did not accomplish its objectives in Vietnam of keeping a US-friendly government in power" Yes. They did. While there was conflict. Then they left, and effectively abandoned those objectives. When the North Vietnamese rebuilt it's army and re-invaded the South - propping up the S. Vietnamese government was obviously no longer a military objective, and barely a political one. So the US won a war, withdrew, and then abandoned their ally. Which is crazy.
- stcredzero 8y ago
  So the US won a war, withdrew, and then abandoned their ally. Which is crazy. Sounds an awful lot like our government was gaming their "target" just to say they achieved it, even though hitting the target wasn't in everyone's best interests.
- pmwhite 8y ago
  The US failed to achieve a South Vietnamese gov't that had reasonable support from the general populace, which was nominally on the list of US policy goals since the beginning, but was gamed at every step of the way. Until such was achieved, we had _always_ lost the war. Winning battles, paid for with American blood, was only a means of temporarily staving off the likely collapse for another year or two. As for "abandoned", what does that even mean? The South had: large material advantages in artillery, vehicles, and AFVs; a significant air force (2000 craft), plus >10 years of a huge US training effort.

sonnyblarney 8y ago

" The US did not accomplish its objectives in Vietnam of keeping a US-friendly government in power" Yes. They did. While there was conflict. Then they left, and effectively abandoned those objectives. When the North Vietnamese rebuilt it's army and re-invaded the South - propping up the S. Vietnamese government was obviously no longer a military objective, and barely a political one. So the US won a war, withdrew, and then abandoned their ally. Which is crazy.

stcredzero 8y ago
So the US won a war, withdrew, and then abandoned their ally. Which is crazy. Sounds an awful lot like our government was gaming their "target" just to say they achieved it, even though hitting the target wasn't in everyone's best interests.
pmwhite 8y ago
The US failed to achieve a South Vietnamese gov't that had reasonable support from the general populace, which was nominally on the list of US policy goals since the beginning, but was gamed at every step of the way. Until such was achieved, we had _always_ lost the war. Winning battles, paid for with American blood, was only a means of temporarily staving off the likely collapse for another year or two. As for "abandoned", what does that even mean? The South had: large material advantages in artillery, vehicles, and AFVs; a significant air force (2000 craft), plus >10 years of a huge US training effort.