Putin seeks Ukraine troop deployment (approval from Russian parliament)

[Swede Atlanta]

24. I think it is important to qualify what is meant by "lose"....

I concede North Vietnam lacked many of the modern instruments of war such as fighters, naval resources, etc. But what they had were AK-47s, SAMs and commitment.

As in Korea the objective of the war continuously shifted. It shifted from defeat meaning conquest in the entire country and removal of the communists even in the north to a secure division of the country in the model of Korea.

Unfortunately command of the war was in Washington and not Saigon. Presidents from Kennedy to Nixon played the war for their political advantage (or disadvantage). The politicians never gave the military a clear objective with adequate resources and then stepped out of the way to let the military prosecute the war.

As several posters have posted, the American people tired of the war. There was no clear objective and with no clear objective there was no end date in sight and with no end date in sight the young men sent to fight that war were nothing more than cannon fodder for the politicians.

No, I would say if we were "defeated" it was because the communists had a clear objective and commitment whereas we lacked any cohesive policy objective and time took its toll on our willingness to commit men, materiel and political capital in the effort.