3 thoughts on “Studying Vietnam Doesn’t Really Help

  1. If the war would have been won, what would have been gained? How would a continued division of Vietnam into two countries have helped?
    Would the Soviet Union have collapsed one day sooner?
    Would the current reasonably cordial relationship with unified Vietnam have developed faster?
    By losing in Vietnam, what did we lose?
    I am told that we won in Iraq. What did we win?
    What is there to win in Afghanistan?Report

  2. It might seem like a nit, but you really need to distinguish between the “Vietcong” (~NLF) and the PAVN in discussing the later stages (roughly post-Tet) of the war. My understanding of the literature is that the command structures were not unified at the operational level.

    I remember reading COL Sorley’s book a few years ago, but I don’t remember it well enough to argue its points in detail – my recollection is that he didn’t address the deep state breakage caused by Diem’s exteme favoritism to Catholics.

    I wouldn’t lean on Vietnam experience much either way re Afghanistan, although studying our higher level failures (e.g. the US’ collective overreaction to the Tet offensive) is probably a good idea, if difficult.Report

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