Originally posted by: Jhhnn
Vietnam? Basically, we got the other side to quit shooting so we wouldn't have to take any lead in our backsides, then declared victory and left. From there, N Vietnamese victory was inevitable. I suspect it was inevitable all along, given that the US really doesn't have the stomach for the level of mass murder involved to have "won".
The Vietnamese really didn't have anything we wanted, anyway. It wasn't about resources, but rather about geo-political ideology.
Iraq is different- they do have something we want, no matter how strongly anybody tries to deny it, and there's no centralized entity we can negotiate with in order to create any illusion of victory whatsoever...
The reasons for going in were all lies, so I suspect that'll really be the way out, too. Somebody just has to show the chutzpah to declare victory and leave, that's all... It'll sell- the public will gladly buy it, whatever it is... and the chips will fall where they may after we're gone... likely where they'll fall anyway,,,