Question

1/ What do you think accounted for the growing opposition to the war in Vietnam?

2/ Was the American failure in Vietnam a political or a military one? Can you Explain it for me please

Answer 1

1. During the mid-1960s, disillusionment with the war started to emerge in two widely contrasting classes-those who claimed that the U.S. wasted lives and money in Southeast Asia and those who assumed that the nation did not sufficiently help the people sent to fight a decisive battle against communism. The sudden and violent attacks which erupted during the 1968 Tet holidays followed official promises of progress, a timing which increased the offensive's corrosive impact on national resolution.

The first US ground fighting troops arrived in south Vietnam in March 1965. Congress backed the actions of the then president. The number of Americans who opposed the war started to rise though. Some people have said that the fighting was a civil war. We said the U.S. had no right, or justification, to interfere. The United States halted airstrikes on North Vietnam for six days in May. The administration hoped this would help get the Government of North Vietnam to begin talks. The North declined. And the US began building up its forces in the South. By July in Vietnam one hundred and twenty-five thousand Americans fought.

In the United States, municipal and state elections were held in late 1966. The Vietnam war had an impact on those polls. The Republican Party of the opposition usually endorsed war efforts by the President. But it has blamed him and other Democrats for the war-related economic problems. The war cost $2 trillion a month. In the United States the price of many goods started to increase. The dollar's value had begun to drop. Inflation resulted. Economic growth then accelerated and recession resulted.

At home Americans saw a different picture. Many Americans were surprised, even shocked, that the Communists were able to launch such a huge assault on South Vietnam. We had been told for many years that the Communist forces were weak and were losing badly. Claims of success in the war, already greeted with skepticism, have lost more legitimacy in both the official and public circles. As a result the Administration's public popularity dropped even lower.

2. Failure to have a simple explanation is no mistake. None of the organizations that took the U.S. into the war or put the war to court want to be tarred with losing the war. They would rather be left vague, uncertain about their loss. And worse, with some blamed. But there are also very clear, concrete explanations why the U.S. lost the War. If we are ever to achieve a true war peace and definitely if we are ever to avoid repeating its mistakes and fail to lose new wars it is important that we understand why the U.S. has lost.

State-policy, intelligence and, of course, military deficiencies occurred. Politics or political dynamics are the easiest thing to describe. Those had been dealt with in detail in earlier pieces, here and here. When political and intelligence shortcomings led to the U.S. defeat, it was central to military failures. Vietnam was a war, after all.The military, which was the War's lead actor, is eager to blame others for their defeat. The liberal media turned the people against the War. It was the pampered protesters who soured the nation, the students at the college. In the Pentagon, it was the arm-chair warriors who bound the hands of the military behind their back.