Vietnam War: Win, Lose, or Draw for America?

[Blair]

A win for the US population's ability to make themselves heard, a defeat for the Pentagon.

The "Pentagon" is a tool the politicians use.  Blaming the "Pentagon" for Vietnam is like blaming the gun for murder.


We won every major battle, had a very good kill:death ratio despite the sh**tty conditions (the military was designed, at the point the war started, to fight on the open fields of Europe, not the jungles of southeast Asia) and left on our own terms.  A win?  well no, obviously not as we didn't reach our goals, but I've got a hard time calling it a loss.

You didn't win every major battle http://www.g2mil.com/lost_vietnam.htm

By your logic the war of independence was a draw for the UK right? We weren't trained to fight there, we had a good kill:death ratio despite the sh**tty conditions (no-one likes Boston) and we left on our own terms?

If your claiming Vietnam, I'm claiming the WOI

[Blair]

I'm assuming Deadman was one of the two tie votes, but who the hell voted "win"? And why oh why?

I didn't vote.

A win for the US population's ability to make themselves heard, a defeat for the Pentagon.

The "Pentagon" is a tool the politicians use.  Blaming the "Pentagon" for Vietnam is like blaming the gun for murder.


We won every major battle, had a very good kill:death ratio despite the sh**tty conditions (the military was designed, at the point the war started, to fight on the open fields of Europe, not the jungles of southeast Asia) and left on our own terms.  A win?  well no, obviously not as we didn't reach our goals, but I've got a hard time calling it a loss.

You didn't win every major battle http://www.g2mil.com/lost_vietnam.htm

By your logic the war of independence was a draw for the UK right? We weren't trained to fight there, we had a good kill:death ratio despite the sh**tty conditions (no-one likes Boston) and we left on our own terms?

If your claiming Vietnam, I'm claiming the WOI

I said "major".  I didn't read every line from your link, but the 20ish I read were all fairly minor (at best).  You seemed to also miss the part where I said we didn't win.

I totally understand why it's considered a loss, it's just not a clean loss.


(and besides the points you made, the UK "lost" that war for some of the same reasons the US "lost" Vietnam, the people at home lost the will to fight a war that they didn't see much point in fighting and it was managed poorly by politicos an ocean away)

So then the war of Independence wasn't a clean loss? Wicked.

Does this look like anything but a loss?