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Originally Posted by boatin
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.
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I don't see things the same way, obviously. I feel that any opposition to a military action should take place at the polls. But to undercut it with propaganda only gives whoever we are fighting another weapon, and makes an added front. Otherwise, what ends up happening is you end up with a situation where protests only help extend, and not end a war.
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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.
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This is where I disagree. We would have worn them down because they would have lost all capability of fighting a war. Had we been allowed to go into N. Vietnam, it would have been a much different fight. And as was pointed out above, the military leaders of N. Vietnam were counting on the resistance at home sapping the American will. It was figured into their battleplan.
And I do agree about our ignorance of their culture also hurt the war. We saw nothing but communists, and failed to see how China wasn't a big threat due to historic conflicts between Vietnam and China (and you can see this even today, as Vietnam is becoming willing to possibly link defense efforts with the US because of fear of Chinese buildup). But I don't think thats as big a problem in Iraq, simply because we have more experience in that area.
I definately understand your view, and in some ways think it's noble, but I don't think its conductive at all to warfare. War should be fought as efficiently as possible, so that it can be finished as soon as possible. Afterwards is the time for examining how it was conducted, and determining what (if any) punishments should be given to those running the war, or taking part in the war. I just don't see how proper persbective can be gained otherwise.