Why do you think the United States didn't?

Question

win the Vietnam war? Why did North Vietnam win?

Thank you for answering but please read the question. I WANT TO KNOW WHY YOU THINK THE UNITED STATES DID NOT WIN THE VIETNAM WAR? I'm not asking for sources. If I wanted sources, I would go to the libary, not yahoo.

Answer 1

The US could not adapt to severe geurilla warefare and the traps. Also, the Vietnamese were very willing to fight, unlike many American troops (the hippy effort was very demoralizing.) Eventually, home in the US, anti-war rallies and pressure on the government, as well as anger against the mounting casualties led to the troops being pulled out.

Answer 2

Retrospect tells us that: the US military (and the CIA) misrepresented numbers of forces of the north which led to very bad military decisions. The US treated the "enemy" as one unified force, while in fact there were five distinct groups that comprised "the enemy". The South Vietnamese were demoralized by a corrupt government propped up by the US, which led to villagers helping the Viet Cong or others. During the time soldiers were there (US, total of about a million altogether), many became hooked on heroin and even brought it back to the US -- also not good for the military effort. The anti-Vietnam effort in the US contributed to the pressure for peace talks, but they had much less contribution to the end of the war than some would imagine. In addition, it was called the first "Living Room War" because we got live shoots of the fighting, and that in itself made people want the war to end. We had started in 1964 with the "War on Poverty" and the Vietnam War sucked all the funding out of social programs into war programs. Same exact thing is happening now.

Answer 3

You ask a most powerful question.
First, the media and the democrat party tied the hands of our military in the performance of their work in Vietnam. One cannot fight or win a war in which one side has to follow rules while the other side doesn't.
second. Fighting a war requires a fundamental understanding of the culture you are fighting. It boils down to how much do they value human life. Whether their own, their own people or the life of the enemy. If they value very little their own life, why should we value there's?
Third. wars are fought on many fronts. Not only in the battlefield, which is easier, but in the media. The media will roast you alive all the while reporting news that favors the enemy. War is never civilized, but the media plays into the hands of the enemy reporting our mistakes and ignoring their atrocities.
Now I said all of that to say this. The same error of approach to the Vietnam is being repeated in the war in Iraq.