Word: combative
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Professing to scorn the U.S. as a paper tiger, Communist China had long proclaimed Americans incapable of combat under such conditions-while prudently allowing North Viet Nam to fight its "war of liberation." The Americans turned out to be tigers, all right-live ones. With courage and a cool professionalism that surprised friend and foe, U.S. troops stood fast and firm in South Viet Nam. In the waning months of 1965, they helped finally to stem the tide that had run so long with the Reds...
...next few months, the U.S. public can hardly demand major victories-at least until a serious supply bottleneck is broken and Westmore land gets the extra combat divisions he has been pleading for. But as the U.S. troop level climbs toward 400,000 men, as the price of war begins to crimp Great Society programs and boost taxes, Americans may find it harder than ever to accept the long war predicted by the Administration. Military men talk in terms of years, and though other officials insist that "something will give" long before that, few would risk curtailing the U.S. buildup...
Abruptly, the ground rules had changed. Some 3,500 combat marines from Okinawa landed to secure Danang Airbase. Advance units of the 173rd Airborne also streamed in. One of the most significant U.S. moves was to assign U.S. planes to bomb and strafe Viet Cong units in South Viet Nam itself...
Acting on Westmoreland's urgent plea for more combat troops and planes, the President in July spent eight days in secret conferences before adopting a cautious program of "maximum deterrence" calculated not to unduly alarm Hanoi's friends in Moscow. For the first time in any comparable emergency, the Administration did not order economic controls or mobilize reserves. Monthly draft calls were doubled to 35,000. The armed forces were authorized an additional 340,000 men for a total of 2,980,000. Most important of all, reinforcements were rushed to Viet...
...King Feisal, who backed the Republicans and Royalists respectively, appealed to the delegates to continue the talks. But the Yemenis simply began to slip away. With their departure came the fear that the shooting might start again, for both sides have kept forces in a state of combat alert. Egyptians and Saudis immediately began strengthening their joint peace-keeping force in Yemen, and Nasser canceled his plans for a long-postponed troop withdrawal. "Historically, this war has produced its fiercest battles during Ramadan when there is nothing else to do for 30 days but fast and fight," said one Egyptian...