Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (234785)	7/1/2007 2:19:32 AM
From: c.hinton	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

nadine... you are a history buff you should be aware of the significance of the tet offencive in regard to us war propaganda The Army had repeatedly assured us that the enemy was at the end of its reasorses. The Army was proved liars or an incompetant in the eyes of the public by the unexpected offence...... Any hope for a quick victory evaporated with TeT.

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (234785)	7/1/2007 2:24:23 AM
From: c.hinton	Respond to of 281500

Goals and results of the TET ofensive...wikipedia According to General Vo Nguyen Giap, the communist north's goals were not purely military but political and diplomatic as well, to take advantage of public opposition to the war in the United States and the weakness of the Saigon Government. Giap sought to accomplish the following: Create a general uprising among the South Vietnamese against the Saigon government, leading to the formation of a coalition government and the departure of the United States. Demonstrate that American claims regarding progress in the war were wrong and to apply pressure upon the U.S. government. Bring the war to the cities of South Vietnam to relieve military pressure on the countryside. (Schmitz 90) The first and most ambitious goal, to produce a general uprising, was a failure for the communists. While there was little support for the Saigon government, there was no general uprising and the communists, most with no plans for retreat or withdrawal, took heavy losses. While fighting in Hue and Saigon continued for some time, in most cites the communists were driven back in just days. The effort to regain control of the countryside was more successful. According to the U.S. State Department the Viet Cong "expanded their control in urban areas and have made pacification virtually inoperative. In the Mekong Delta the NLF was stronger now then ever and in other regions the countryside belongs to the VC" (Schmitz 106), The attacks created a crisis in the administration of President Lyndon Johnson, which was unable to convince the American people that the Tet Offensive was a major defeat for the communists. According to Colonel Thomas Hammes, the U.S. government "had squandered its credibility with the press and, through them, with the U.S. public." According to a March 25 Harris poll, 60 percent of Americans “regarded the Tet Offensive as a defeat for U.S. objectives in Vietnam (Henkin) The offensive had profound psychological impact on the Johnson administration, elite decision makers, and the media. According to Peter Braestrup, Tet “affected political Washington far more than it did the general public. At the end of March, in the wake of Tet, the Johnson administration began a reevaluation of its war policy. On the advice of the so-called Wise men the Johnson Administration made major changes to its Vietnam War policy. These changes included limiting the bombing campaign in North Vietnam and reversing the escalation of American troops, capping levels at 550,000. The Johnson administration also began to turn over responsibility of the fighting to the South Vietnamese and sought negotiations with Hanoi. [edit]Strategic context

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (234785)	7/1/2007 11:01:20 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 281500

[Tony] Blair launches stinging attack on 'absurd' British Islamists [SOMEONE WHO "GETS IT"] Observer ^ \| July 1, 2007 \| Nicholas Watt observer.guardian.co.uk Tony Blair has launched a powerful attack on 'absurd' British Islamists who have nurtured a false 'sense of grievance' that they are being oppressed by Britain and the United States. In his most outspoken remarks on Islamists, the former Prime Minister warns that Britain is in danger of losing the battle against terrorists unless mainstream society confronts the threat. Blair's remarks, in which he also attacks some civil liberty campaigners as 'loopy loo', were made in a Channel 4 documentary recorded last Tuesday on the eve of his departure from Downing Street. 'The idea that as a Muslim in this country that you don't have the freedom to express your religion or your views, I mean you've got far more freedom in this country than you do in most Muslim countries,' Blair told Observer columnist Will Hutton, who presents the documentary. 'The reason we are finding it hard to win this battle is that we're not actually fighting it properly. We're not actually standing up to these people and saying, "It's not just your methods that are wrong, your ideas are absurd. Nobody is oppressing you. Your sense of grievance isn't justified."' (Excerpt) Read more at observer.guardian.co.uk ....