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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dumbmoney who wrote (147800)	10/14/2004 9:54:35 AM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 281500

Having originated this discussion, let me point out that I did not say whether one should or shouldn't have the will, in a given circumstance, to persist against all odds. The answer in the case of Vietnam is that we didn't care enough to win, but that doesn't mean we should have stayed. Rather, it demonstrates how a determined foe with unequal means may triumph when its stake in the outcome is greater than ours.

To: dumbmoney who wrote (147800)	10/17/2004 5:39:59 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 281500

In the Vietnam war, the U.S. expended blood and treasure far out of proportion to the possible gain, so how can you say that will (passion, determination) was lacking? For the simple reason that it was lacking compared to the will and determination to win of the enemy. We never lost any battle except perhaps the smallest ones that could be called skirmishes or encounters more then battles, but we still lost the war because they care more about winning. Perhaps this is because it was rational for them to care more about winning or for us to care less. That could be argued, but it doesn't change the straight fact that we stopped making significant efforts to win and some point and they did not. Tim