did the USA lose the vietnam war because of their own tactics?

Answer 1

The Vietnam war was technically not lost as the military just pulled out of the country. The military was not defeated. But the goal of the military was never accomplished.

This conflict became a political war, one that had the military marching to the politician's whims. They loaded the war with rules and procedures and constrained the military.

The lessons of this war are many but one big lesson was that you cannot defeat an enemy willing to do anything to win. You see, we were not willing to do anything to win and all the technology and resources were insufficient to defeat an enemy that was willing to fight the war with no constraints.

Does this sound familiar? The war in Iraq is similiar. Again, the politicians are running the war, not military professionals. Again, we are unwilling to do what it takes to win. Again, in time, we will pull out and the void will fill with the enemy. Just wait and see, it will happen....

Answer 2

We Won all the Battles, but We Lost due to Politics.The most Far-Out Theory I've Heard was from G.Gordon Liddy.Supposedly, John Dean, who was Chief of Staff in the Nixon White House was having an Affair with a Call Girl, and Pictures taken with a Hidden Camera were Hidden at the Democratic Campaign Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel, and People were going to Use that against Dean, and the Break-In was to get those Pictures.Nixon easily won the Election, so what Reason did he have to set up the Break In ? Once it was revealed to Nixon, he made the Mistake of Trying to Cover Up and Protect Dean.That eventually caused Nixon to Resign, right after Agnew.So, We had Finally gotten Out of Vietnam, and had "Peace With Honor". North Vietnam, with the Support of the Left, saw what was Happening with Politics in the USA, a President and a Vice President that had not been Elected, the Economy going Downhill, Energy Prices going up, and in 1975 They Knew They could Invade South Vietnam with no Problem. President Ford wanted to send Troops back to Vietnam, and Congress refused to allow it. The Rest is History. John Dean Exploded with Anger at G.Gordon Liddy, and Threatened to have him Arrested for Slander and Defamation. Liddy Said, "Fine, I'll See You in Court!" Nothing more has been Said about it, no Charges were ever Pressed. I Wonder Why ? Again, with the Election so easily Won, what did Nixon have to Gain by Engineering the Watergate Break In ? The actual Information, and just what was to be Gained never has been Revealed, other than the Un-Contested Theory from G.Gordon Liddy.I wonder if the Truth will ever be Revealed.

Answer 3

We disengaged from the SE Asia conflict because of several factors. If you had to pick THE predominate reason it would have to come down to LBJ. He inherited the situation after the JFK assassination. LBJ insisted on micro-managing the war, even planning the bombing missions on a daily basis.

If Congress had made a formal declaration of war, the generals on the ground would have had more latitude to guide the situation on a battle-by-battle basis with clear-cut objectives.

The unmentioned fact was China was secretly aiding and abetting the NVA and Viet Cong with personnel, logistics, intelligence and supplies. Well publicized was the fact Russian merchant marines were ignoring the US blockade of Hanoi.

A classic war plan might have escalated into a regional conflict with China which Richard Nixon didn't want. Nixon shut down the Viet Nam engagement and immediately started to seek relations with China.

The question given is unclear about who "their" is.

Answer 4

It was an unwinable in the first place. We followed the rules where they didn't. The French didn't recognize the communist nationalism,either,as evidenced by Dien Ben Fu(sp?).
In a tactical and body count sense the US crushed the Vietnamese. We won the tactical war, but lost the political war.

Answer 5

well, seeing as vietnam was never classified as a war i'd have to say no (i'm still trying to fiure out why everyone calls it a war).

and we didn't lose, we pulled out.

but yes, we pulled out because we were not prepared to deal with the guerilla tactics that were being used, so maybe less our own tactics and more not being trained to deal with that.

Answer 6

The USA underestimated totally the strength of the opposition and the ideology that drove them. It would have been interesting to see how it would have turned out had the USA initially dropped food instead of bombs. It's possible that the people would have declined to support the VC in the way they did.

Answer 7

All wars are fought for one reason, and one reason alone - gain.
America had nothing to gain in Vietnam, and therefore was destined to lose, before the first shot was ever fired.

Answer 8

the USA was defeated because of the patriotism of the Vietnamese. another reason is there was the USSR .history tells us that it is not possible to get military victory by foreign troupes unless the local people supported them. the USSR faced defeat in Afghanistan. the USA is now facing same sort of defeat in Iraq. it did not learn a lesson from the ussr's experience in Afghanistan

Answer 9

We lost that one?

/kidding