Vietnam War: Should Continue? or Should End?

Vietnam War Should End

The United States have been taking part in direct combat in Vietnam from 1965 . Our work aims to prove that US troops should be withdrawn from Vietnam because the Vietnam War was lost by us from the very beginning There were several strategic failures of the American policy which determined our defeat at the Vietnam War

The major failure was American doctrine of a limited war in Vietnam General McNamara said that in 1967 he "proposed a political-military strategy that raised the possibility of compromise and [adoption of]

a more flexible bargaining position while actively seeking a political settlement (Summers xiv . That means the United States have never been serious about waging a real war - the American intention was just to send signals to the enemy and wait for understanding . Alternatively the North Vietnamese counterpart of McNamara testified that he would fight as many years as it would be needed to gain a completely victory over the South Vietnam and the United States . According to the old rules of war the very object of war is victory - not a limited engagement . The North Vietnamese are still playing by these old rules . If we are using the doctrine of the limited engagement we cannot conquer the enemy who is prepared to wage a war for many years

The failure to invoke the American national will is the second strategic failure of this war . Most of Americans are against of war nowadays Perhaps the best example how the nation feel about the war is the words of Dr . Martin Luther King . On April 4 in a lecture at New York 's Riverside Church he labeled the United States "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world (Shapiro 117 . Luther King also said about the Vietnam War that "somehow this madness must cease " and called for an immediate Vietnam pullout (ibid

The Tet offensive in late January of 1968 indicated that we could never clinch a military victory . The growing strength of the antiwar movement produced a strategic vulnerability of the US policy which was exploited by the Vietnamese . This offensive is the Vietnamese 's turn for the real strategic surprise . During this offensive the enemy assaulted strongpoints in 100 South Vietnamese cities and towns and in 25 days controlled large areas of the country side . Although the Vietnamese even captured Mekong Delta for some time , the whole offensive was a tactical defeat . Both the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong suffered heavy losses - more than 100 ,000 fighting men died . The enemy violated the principle of mass , as General Palmer summed it up

Strategically , by attacking everywhere Giap had superior strength nowhere . Simply put , he failed to mass his forces , a strategic error which he committed knowingly , but an error theless . Military victories are not won by violating military principles (Palmer 199

Paradoxically the Vietnamese won the victory by violating military principle this time . Even though Tet offensive was a tactical defeat it had a great strategic success...