Question about the US during vietnam.?

Question

Some say that the protests and fighting contributed to the failure to defeat N Vietnam. This is not about whether we won or lost,whether it was right or wrong. This also is not an attempt to compare Vietnam and Iraq. My question is about us. Are we acting the same(by fighting/arguing with each other) and could it cause the outcome in Iraq to be less than favorable?

Patriot,why not ask that question? It not like the points are good for anything.

Answer 1

I believe that there are some striking comparisons.Study of history,tells the future.Their is really never any diplomacy.Why have diplomats

Answer 2

Protesting and fighting in the US had nothing to do with losing the war in Vietnam. That was caused by the constraints placed on the fighting force in country. We entered the war as military advisors with limited engagement powers. As the force and conditions changed, the rules of engagement did not for a long time.
We, as a nation, are acting similar to those at the time of Vietnam, but will less impact. We have become a nation capable of being rational as opposed to being swayed by the emotion of others. I believe this was learned as a result of the actions surrounding the Vietnam war.

Answer 3

We are acting properly. There is nothing wrong with exercising one's First Amendment rights. I respect one's right to speak their mind, even if I don't necessarily agree with their views.

Furthermore, open dialog and public discourse are essential in any democracy (I won't get into the issue of how much of a democracy we actually do or do not have). Additionally, the motives and actions of the government should be constantly examined, questioned, and assessed. It fosters accountability (or at least it SHOULD).

As for the outcome in Iraq: It will be less than favorable because of the very nature of the war and how it's been conducted, not because people do or do not support it. While public opinion could possibly sway how the government reacts to the situation in Iraq, public opinion is not responsible for the situation itself. And it's the situation that is less (much, much less) than favorable. Now, if you're looking for who to blame for this pooch-screw, it's that shaved ape in the Oval Office and his creepy Uncle Dick.

Answer 4

The hostility between those who wish to end the US military involvement in Iraq and those who think we have an opponent against which we can 'win' is quite argumentative,
but it is nothing compared to the hostility that divided people over the war in Viet Nam.

Parents were told that their protesting college children were crazed on drugs and intended to murder them in their sleep. The slander of the peace movement was driven from the White House and state governments, as it is now, but it was worse because of the generational division. Parents who supported the war would say, after the shootings at Kent State, "If you had been there you should have been shot, too!"

Young people who opposed the war considered people who supported the war as parts of a war machine, and refused to trust people over 30. Many viewed all of the business world as "The Machine". Some went so far as to be abusive to returning soldiers.

It was an ugly time.

Answer 5

I think there is some similarity in the way things are conducted in Washington these days, but the main difference is the public protests are not as prevailant. As the is no draft or "real" media coverage of events in the combat zones.
The war is just another "issue" on the campaign trail that will not be dealt with until after Januaury of 2009.
I think the public is somewhat split, but until the war hits home for everyone, young men & women will continue to die, as our politicians endlessly debate....

Answer 6

ok purely the info, first there became no Vietnam warfare in accordance to government archives. It became a conflict. The U.S. by no potential formally declared warfare on North Vietnam. The Vietnam conflict had 5 diverse presidents deliver troops in various capacities. First became Dwight D. Eisenhower, who sent "advisers" to survey, practice and checklist back on the conflict. lots of those advisers died throughout guerrilla operations. John Kennedy accompanied tournament with sixteen,000 "advisers" being in Vietnam and/or Southeast Asia on the time of his dying. LBJ, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford have been the different 3 to deliver troops over there. Ford sending them to truly execute our evacuation plan.

Answer 7

Only the policies in which we wage war and how we handle the situation is the determining factor in a war .

Since we did not handle it right from day one we are not going to ever win in Iraq or any war that we do not go into with the idea of destroying the entire country and then rebuilding it out of the ashes .

Answer 8

It does not really matter whether we are right or wrong, whether the people are for or against these wars. The bottom line is about the bottom line. These wars are profit making ventures that are excuses for the powers that be to line their pockets with tax payer money.
We were warned by president Eisenhower in his farewell address about the dangers of the military/industrial complex. Now our government is nothing but a puppet for them.
Our protests are nothing but background noise to these animals.

Answer 9

If not for the protests of the 60's, we might still be in Vietnam. We'd certainly still have military bases there. The Vietnamese are better off for us having left. And Iraq will be, too.

Answer 10

LOL. People are going to protest. This is a fact. An intelligent president might've considered this fact, and its ultimate impact, when electing to start a war. The loss is HIS fault, and the blood is on his hands (and those of his supporters). Period. We should let HIM (or them) off of the hook because he (and they) lack knowledge of human nature and history? Not happening here, I will never let anybody forget. A side note: in 10 years try finding somebody who will admit they supported this foolishness.

Answer 11

I rarely discuss Iraq, mainly because I believe that each and every one of us are ill-informed. Reading biased web sites, listening to biased media (both sides), doesn't make US the insiders.

I will say that an ill-formed public and their outcry can create problems.

Also, we all have to take into consideration that our politicians will do or say just about anything to garner votes. I trust none of them at this point.