Word: ifs
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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But neither the military nor the civilian leaders were willing to admit that a military victory in the classic World War II sense was impossible under the conditions imposed by the Red Chinese and the Soviets and the nature of the war. The Pentagon should have tried harder to persuade...
WHENEVER a war ends in defeat or a dubious stalemate, the unsuccessful military leaders are apt to grope for some kind of stab-in-the-back explanation. The U.S. is certainly not headed in Viet Nam for any defeat remotely akin to Germany's humiliation in World War I...
The Pentagon was appalled that no full mobilization of U.S. manpower was ordered, and that their suggestions for committing up to 750,000 troops as soon as they could be assembled were ignored. "Gradualism was the classic mistake of the McNamara crowd," sums up one Pentagon officer. Says another: "The...
Commanders in the field have other complaints. They say that the U.S. should have moved much sooner to strengthen the South Vietnamese forces, which are now belatedly expected to take over the fighting. Field officers would have liked greater freedom to clean the Viet Cong out of populated villages without...
Perhaps no other war in history has imposed similar restraints and frustrations on an armed force, making the bitterness of the military men understandable. Still, most of their assertions about missed chances of victory are highly questionable. The notion that a quick strike by an unfettered U.S. military force would...