From:	Strago strago@***.com
Subject:	[OT] Vietnam lesson (kinda long) (Was Re: Values and so on...)
Date:	Fri, 16 Jul 1999 23:07:07 -0400

Paul J. Adam wrote:

> In article <4.2.0.58.19990716082051.0098d810@*****.engin.umich.edu>,
> Sommers <sommers@*****.edu> writes
> >But how often does that work? The US had all of the high-end military gear
> >in Vietnam. The North Vietnamese didn't have a lot of gear at all.
>
> I am acquainted with a number of pilots who would strongly disagree with
> that statement.
>
> > The
> >South Vietnamese, and the US forces were certainly not above the occasional
> >atrocities. The more they were kicked when they were down, the more they
> >got up to fight.
>
> Bear in mind that the victorious North Vietnamese were _not_ civilians
> with personal weapons: the North was extensively equipped with modern
> Soviet air defences, aircraft, artillery, and armour.
>
> <SNIP AFGHANISTAN. I'M NOT INTERESTED IN IT . . . much>

OK. One of my courses in College last semester was on guerilla warfare. We
discovered the secret to the "loss" in Viet Nam was, generally, because of 1
main
factor. It was NOT the "atrocities" perpetrated upon the South Vietnamese
people.
It was the Ho Chi Minh Trail. That little route allowed the North Vietnamese to
just walk on down into the South, bringing reinforcements and supplies. One of my
teacher's contentions was that if the US had, instead of bombing, just started at
the border and MARCHED across Laos and Cambodia and HELD THE LINE, the Viet Cong
would have been exterminated and South Vietnam would be on the road to true
democracy.

I put loss in quotes because the US military DIDN'T lost the Vietnam
conflict. They did what they were supposed to do: keep the South Vietnamese
afloat and "free and democratic". At the signing of the Peace Accords (whatever
they were) the US said that if the North attacked the South, it would attack the
North again. The North started the fighting again, the politicians did nothing.
The South fought valiantly, but was overwhelmed. The government of the good ole'
US of A allowed South Viet Nam to be invaded. It did nothing. It was the greatest
and grossest violation by the government that I have EVER heard of. And that's
all I have to say about that. Any who would like to debate me, you are free to.


--
--Strago

The gene pool in the 21st century needs a deep cleaning. I am the chlorine.

SRGC v0.2 !SR1 SR2++ !SR3 h b++ B- UB- IE+ RN++ sa++ ma++ ad+ m+ (o++ d+) gm+ M-