Re: Tech Levels and Quality was Re: DS3 design (long)

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 17:08:01 +0100, Samuel Penn
<sam@bifrost.demon.co.uk> wrote:

> > The US was not beaten Militarily. It left due to
> > the overall strategic goals of political
> > influence at home being affected by the war and
> > that affected the Strategic Military Decision
> > making. The US never lost any major engagements
> > with the NVA or the VC. In fact, the US usually
> > clobbered the NVA or VC.
> 
> IOW, the VC were willing/able to keep on fighting until the US
> decided that it wasn't worth it and went home. i.e., the US lost.

Point of Fact:	The "Viet Cong" (derogatory term for the National
Liberation Front) were destroyed in 1968 during the catastrophic Tet
Offensive.

The PAVN (AKA NVA) remained in the field, though utterly incapable of
defeating the United States.

Due to political problems at home largely caused by pro-Communist
agitators, the US withdrew from Vietnam.

And the PAVN ran T-55s over the ARVN.  Hardly a case of inferior
technology prevailing on the battlefield.

You could make the argument that the US lost Vietnam.  More correctly,
the United States never managed to turn military victory into
political gains that would secure a favorable peace.  At no time did
the PAVN/NLF forces meet American troops in the field and beat them in
a fight.

John