Will Iraqi insurgents have their own TET?

[grandpa]

Quote by: The Decider If I read Night correctly, he's disputing the "Tet Offensive" analogy based on the numbers of Viet Cong and Vietnamese troops involved. It was a highly coordinated and massive attack.

In any case, mass killing took place in Vietnam and is taking place in Iraq.

Given such a state of affairs, it's surprising that more highly coordinated, massive attacks haven't been aimed at the US.

Grandpa h.

[StrongHeartsWin]

There was a crucial moment soon after the TET offensive, when the man who was invited into everyone`s living room at 6:00 p.m every night, Walter Cronkite, got up from his desk, walked over to a map and pointed at Vietnam with his pen, stating, "This is a lost cause," and from that moment on even most die hards had the wind knocked out of them and accepted defeat. Walter was well respected and even though we already are at a point where most of us are seeing defeat, I wonder if any well respected person held in esteem by most American will do such a dramatic thing, either before a Green Zone TET, or after one.

[The Decider]

Quote by: StrongHeartsWin There was a crucial moment soon after the TET offensive, when the man who was invited into everyone`s living room at 6:00 p.m every night, Walter Cronkite, got up from his desk, walked over to a map and pointed at Vietnam with his pen, stating, "This is a lost cause," and from that moment on even most die hards had the wind knocked out of them and accepted defeat. Walter was well respected and even though we already are at a point where most of us are seeing defeat, I wonder if any well respected person held in esteem by most American will do such a dramatic thing, either before a Green Zone TET, or after one.

I'm at a loss to know what well-respected person today could duplicate Cronkite's post-Tet opinion. Nobody in the media today has Cronkite's stature. Military experts and politicians with spotless military backgrounds have taken stands against the war only to have their patriotism and partisanship questioned. I think Americans are far more cynical today than at any time during or after the Vietnam War. That's probably a major legacy of the war itself.

[StrongHeartsWin]

Quote by: The Decider I'm at a loss to know what well-respected person today could duplicate Cronkite's post-Tet opinion. Nobody in the media today has Cronkite's stature.

I agree, Decider. Perhaps it would have to come from another sector by someone who is for the most part beloved by most Americans. Who could that be? Not sure. Even though not a political analyst, what if Letterman were to do that at the beginning of every monologue. Ouch. I think his sharp and scathing wit of yesteryear could come to the fore once again and would be water cooler talk around the nation.

[Night]

Quote by: brien The other points aside, the Viet Cong were unrecognizable to the US forces in Viet Nam. My comparison to the Viet Cong is valid because the US troops can't differentiate the Musliim terrorists from the Moderate Muslim in Iraq. Furthermore, just how does one recognize a Sunni from a Shiite? This was the the very same situation the US faced in Viet Nam. The US couldn't eradicate an enemy it couldn't recognize. This is the failed lesson to be learned from Viet Nam by the current Administration.

The difference between a Shiite and a Sunni is irrelevant, it is the difference between the insurgent and the average citizen that concerns the US military and Iraqi police.

[RickSp]

Quote by: Night The difference between a Shiite and a Sunni is irrelevant, it is the difference between the insurgent and the average citizen that concerns the US military and Iraqi police.

The difference between Shia and Sunni is hardly irrelevant to the average Iraqi. The majority of average Iraqis support the insurgency, actively or passively. An overwhelming majority think that the US occupation is more the problem than the solution.





Most Iraqis Want U.S. Troops Out Within a Year

[brien]

Quote by: Night The difference between a Shiite and a Sunni is irrelevant, it is the difference between the insurgent and the average citizen that concerns the US military and Iraqi police.

Hardly, Night. When a male or female US soldier who was raised in the US and can't tell a Iraqi from an Iranian, from a Saudi, from a Syrian, how do you think they can tell a Sunni from a Shiite insurgent who happen to be after each other's head? How can they tell a moderate from a radical? How can they stop any violence between these two groups when they can't even recognize the difference?

The same damned thing happened in Viet Nam. Cities in Viet Nam were infiltrated with Viet Cong who were successful at terrorizing people because they were just about invisible to the US forces who couldn't distinguish them from the US sympathizers. They could go about their terrorist activities, hit and run, and then melt back into the general population. Sound familiar?

[StrongHeartsWin]

The whole premis of my thread OP has been given a boost by U.S. commanders and their fears -- and to think I was several months a head of them on this. See:

Fears of a Tet Offensive in Iraq The U.S. commanders in Iraq seem to sense some new horror for the country is near. On July 7, Gen. David Petraeus predicted that insurgents would lash out with spectacular attacks in the coming weeks, as the clock runs down on time ahead of the September progress report due in Washington. And yesterday Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, the commander of U.S. forces in southern Iraq, echoed the fear when talking to reporters in the Green Zone. "We're concerned about some kind of Tet offensive that's going to affect the debate in Washington," Lynch said, harking back to the pivotal 1968 push by communist forces in Vietnam.