Respect By Other Nations The Vietnam War example essay topic

Theron Ever age POLS 301 March 20, 2003 Why we should not have fought the Vietnam War Ask the class, do all wars have a winner and loser: Sometimes the answer to the question who won or lost reminds me of those who, having lost a football game, retort, "We beat you in the statistics". In football what matters is the final score, not how many first downs, completed passes, yards per carry, or how few penalties a team gets on its way to victory or defeat. USA 90% destroyed, Russia 100% destroyed: Who won? They were figthing for something, we were figthing against something -- that requires less dedication Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War, "What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy". [3] The short answer is that North Vietnam won the war because their strategy was superior to that of the United States and its Saigon ally.

North Vietnamese strategy operated at several levels simultaneously to address both total and limited war objectives. Against the Saigon government, Hanoi's war aims were total. They never relented in their objective of disestablishing South Vietnam as an independent country and unifying the country under a single communist system. He also said we lost because the North Vietnamese were into long term fighting. It did not matter how long the war would take, they were determined to outlast the U.S... He also believed that the problem was more to do with logistics.

If we had five million men, at most 75,000 would fight. Our goals were not as important to our soldiers then to the communist soldiers. The communist soldiers were brainwashed. People can be very dedicated in the name of a religion. It is important to know that your goals are just and right. Both side not willing to give up, even with heavy cause Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War, "What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy".

The can recruit faster then we can kill the data suggest that we have no prospects for attrit ing the enemy force at a rate equal to or greater than his capability to infiltrate and recruit, and this will be true at either the 470,000 personnel level or 570,000". Presidents had different goals, North Vietnam had only one President with one goal American strategy was neither as well defined nor as encompassing as that of our enemies. While Hanoi remained focused on victory defined as removing the Saigon government and uniting all of Vietnam under a single communist regime, American strategy was to make its enemies realize they could not win a military victory. Not only was the disparity in totality of ends great, under the administrations of presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon American strategy operated toward different goals.

58,000 American deaths Only a limited amount of use for technology can be used in a forest like enviroment as opposed to a desert enviroment like Iraq. Lost of respect by other nations The Vietnam War is one of the most disgraceful periods in American history. Not only did the greatest superpower in the world get bested by an almost third-world nation, but we lost badly. Declare war and give Americans reasons to support it United States lost the war by failing to declare an official war in Vietnam (Dudley and Bender 53-58).

If there was a declaration of war the American people could have stood behind the military. Declaring war would have given the United States a real reason to become involved in Vietnam. Instead of perceiving the ordeal as "their" war, we would have been trying to win "our" war. Bush spent time before the Iraq war trying to justify it. Unrealistic e view of the enemy the United States lost the war because it underestimated the enemy. John Mueller, a professor of political science at the University of Rochester in New York, believes the United States involvement in Vietnam was well thought out, however, we just underestimated the determination of the North Vietnamese (Bender and Dudley 66-69).

The N.V.A. were willing to do what ever it took to gain independence from the rule of any foreign power. the United States lost the war because it underestimated the enemy. The N.V.A. were willing to do what ever it took to gain independence from the rule of any foreign power. Even after the war started, we should have decided when enough is enough Walter H. Capps, professor of religious studies at the University of California, argues that the war was lost politically because the American leaders were determined and committed to the struggle against communism and our pride prevented us from withdrawing our forces from Vietnam (Dudley and Bender 59-65). The leaders of our government had devoted so much time and money to the Vietnam effort that it was not easy to just withdraw without a fight.

Withdrawing would appear to some that we were taking the cowardly way out, throwing away everything that we had worked so hard for. Gambler at a slot machine. 1.