Vietnam War

[Tommy Tainant]

Just watching Ken Burns doc on the bbc.

I will have to watch it again when the house is quieter.

But at first glance it does seem that a lot of brave young men were let down badly by the politicians and the Generals.

I dont know if the doc is accurate but the impression given is that they just didnt have a clue.

My knowledge of the conflict is poor and mainly taken from the movies.

How did it go so badly ?

 

[Penelope]

It was a waste of a war and I saw a few episodes and I do believe its true. Most had no idea what it would be like and as long as it lasted it was a total waste of life.

 

[AVISSSER]

How did it go so badly ?

Something about dominoes.

 

[Correll]

Just watching Ken Burns doc on the bbc.

I will have to watch it again when the house is quieter.

But at first glance it does seem that a lot of brave young men were let down badly by the politicians and the Generals.

I dont know if the doc is accurate but the impression given is that they just didnt have a clue.

My knowledge of the conflict is poor and mainly taken from the movies.

How did it go so badly ?

Containment was a difficult strategy, especially if the nation in question had land borders with communists nations that you did not want to have open war with.


The guerrilla style of the war was a challenge to an military built around the potential tank battles of WWIII.


AND, the media was a much more powerful and hard to control force.

 

[Desperado]

The Vietnam War was a civil war we had no right to be involved in.
Poor leadership, Poor Decisions and over 50,000 dead Americans.
Waste of Blood and Treasure...... I sure hope the politician that got us involved get what is coming to them

 

[Pete7469]

Killing commies is a noble endeavor. I'm ashamed my country has embraced so much socialism, but it looks as if the tide may be turning.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

The Vietnam War was a civil war we had no right to be involved in.
Poor leadership, Poor Decisions and over 50,000 dead Americans.
Waste of Blood and Treasure...... I sure hope the politician that got us involved get what is coming to them

What happened when it finished ?
Was there an enquiry ? Were people held to account ?

 

[MadChemist]

Just watching Ken Burns doc on the bbc.

I will have to watch it again when the house is quieter.

But at first glance it does seem that a lot of brave young men were let down badly by the politicians and the Generals.

I dont know if the doc is accurate but the impression given is that they just didnt have a clue.

My knowledge of the conflict is poor and mainly taken from the movies.

How did it go so badly ?

The French found out just what strong nationalists the Vietnamese were. These people had been throwing invaders out of their country for thousands of years.

They were tenacious (or....their leaders really didn't care how many got killed in their efforts).

American didn't realize this.

You also don't enter a war unless you are prepared to kill whoever it takes. America should have carpet bombed Hanoi. Cruel, but it would have end the conflict quickly.

 

[Hossfly]

The Vietnam War was a civil war we had no right to be involved in.
Poor leadership, Poor Decisions and over 50,000 dead Americans.
Waste of Blood and Treasure...... I sure hope the politician that got us involved get what is coming to them

What happened when it finished ?
Was there an enquiry ? Were people held to account ?

No need for an inquiry. The guilty culprits, Kennedy and Johnson were worm food by 1973.

 

[gipper]

Just watching Ken Burns doc on the bbc.

I will have to watch it again when the house is quieter.

But at first glance it does seem that a lot of brave young men were let down badly by the politicians and the Generals.

I dont know if the doc is accurate but the impression given is that they just didnt have a clue.

My knowledge of the conflict is poor and mainly taken from the movies.

How did it go so badly ?

War is always about the health of the state.

You being a flaming statist should know that.

 

[waltky]

possum likes it when Uncle Ferd puts up a row o' dominoes...

... so he can knock `em down.

 

[Ringel05]

Just watching Ken Burns doc on the bbc.

I will have to watch it again when the house is quieter.

But at first glance it does seem that a lot of brave young men were let down badly by the politicians and the Generals.

I dont know if the doc is accurate but the impression given is that they just didnt have a clue.

My knowledge of the conflict is poor and mainly taken from the movies.

How did it go so badly ?

Intense micomanagement of the war from the White House all the way down not to mention the daily intel and ops reports (with massive statistical data) that were so extensive that many never were read until long after they were useful as well as much of the reported ops completely useless for prosecuting a wrong war in the wrong place.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

The Vietnam War was a civil war we had no right to be involved in.
Poor leadership, Poor Decisions and over 50,000 dead Americans.
Waste of Blood and Treasure...... I sure hope the politician that got us involved get what is coming to them

What happened when it finished ?
Was there an enquiry ? Were people held to account ?

No need for an inquiry. The guilty culprits, Kennedy and Johnson were worm food by 1973.

What lessons were learned Hoss ?
You still get involved in places you should keep clear from and, Iraq, still seem off the pace in terms of what the reality is on the ground.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Vietnam was just another example of American imperialism that blew up in our faces.

 

[Ringel05]

The Vietnam War was a civil war we had no right to be involved in.
Poor leadership, Poor Decisions and over 50,000 dead Americans.
Waste of Blood and Treasure...... I sure hope the politician that got us involved get what is coming to them

What happened when it finished ?
Was there an enquiry ? Were people held to account ?

No need for an inquiry. The guilty culprits, Kennedy and Johnson were worm food by 1973.

What lessons were learned Hoss ?
You still get involved in places you should keep clear from and, Iraq, still seem off the pace in terms of what the reality is on the ground.

Like with all great powers, yes that includes GB when they were the world's powerhouse, mistakes are often made and not learned from. It's not surprising.

 

[Ringel05]

Vietnam was just another example of American imperialism that blew up in our faces.

**sigh**

 

[Desperado]

The Vietnam War was a civil war we had no right to be involved in.
Poor leadership, Poor Decisions and over 50,000 dead Americans.
Waste of Blood and Treasure...... I sure hope the politician that got us involved get what is coming to them

What happened when it finished ?
Was there an enquiry ? Were people held to account ?

When if finished North and South were reunited and the commies tried capitalism.
Just like any American Epic Failure there was no one held responsible, and it there was an inquiry it was a whitewash.

 

[Sunni Man]

Lessons learned from the Vietnam War.

1) Have an end goal and exit strategy.

2) You can't bomb people into the stone age....when they already live in the stone age.

3) People do not like to be invaded and occupied, no matter how nobel the cause.

(also, applies to Iraq and Afghanistan) ....

 

[Mindful]

I heard it said that it was like fighting a ghost in the forest.

 

[Mindful]

Lessons learned from the Vietnam War.

1) Have an end goal and exit strategy.

2) You can't bomb people into the stone age....when they already live in the stone age.

3) People do not like to be invaded and occupied.

(also, applies to Iraq and Afghanistan) ....

How long had they been colonised by the French?