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Originally Posted by alansmithee
I think that partially, it was protesters who undercut our efforts in the Vietnam war. The press coverage of that war seemed quite negative from the onset, and helped contribute to the horrible morale that was often found in Vietnam. Had there been the same anti-war movements in WWII or the Korean war, I feel America's involvement in those would have been much less successful. The constant protests and negative press doesn't allow the country to fight a war how it should be-quick and dirty.
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I'll grant you that not everyone lining up behind a particular effort (whether it's war, or a particular social security plan) makes things harder to accomplish. It's also the very backbone of the way our country works. I think that the challenges it brings are far outweighed by the benefits.
And, lord knows, I don't want to start a Vietnam thread jack, but...
The Vietnamese people fought an insurrection against the Chinese for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. I struggle to put my mind around that. 100 years... 1000 years....
The great US military leaders of the time, thought we could win that war?? I'm guessing discord at home had an impact on US. But approximately zero impact on the actual events on the ground. They would have worn us down with perfect unanimity at home. The American attention span just can't compete. Couldn't then, couldn't now.
We knew (know) nothing about that culture and what makes it tick. I find parallels with the war du jour.