tes of Vietnamese dead range in the lower millions. So why did the Vietnamese hold out militarily?In the starkest terms, instead of fighting a communist backed army from North Vietnam, the United States was facing a war of national liberation that was the last thirty years. There was no way for the U.S. to win on military terms alone. It would have taken the complete annihilation of North Vietnam and the use of savage and brutal tactics in the South to pacify the population. Something in the order of German and Japanese behavior during World War II was needed. This would have been detrimental to any American goals and was thus unacceptable. American counterintelligence (something unimportant in a full-scale Nato-Warsaw clash) was also seriously lacking. Communications security was lax. Because of our careless habits, talking in clear (uncoded) text over insecure phone or voice radio, and our frequent failure to use truly secret codes, the enemy all too often knew our planned moves well in advance. (p. 232) The morale of troops suffered under such adverse conditions. The nations civilian and military leaders certainly never assumed that this could happen to American Gils. Many American soldiers no longer believe that they could win the war. Unlike the top brass, they were not fooled by their superior hardware. Many gained respect for their enemy. They were hard core too. The enemy would do anything to win. You had to respect that. They believed in a cause. They had the support of the people. Thats the key that we Americans dont realize yet. We cant do anything in the military ourselves unless we have the support of the people. (.p202)By the end of 1968, American strategy began to change again. Domestic pressures played a very large part. The offensive had convinced many that the war was unwinable and Richard Nixon won the presidency partly on his pledge to make peace. This, not coincidentally, occurred at the sam...
