Robert McMahon - The Vietnam War's Pivotal Year 

I listened to 35 minutes, then I realized, Oh, I was there!! Don't need to relive that.

I have another possible reason for the Tet offensive. The North Vietnamese needed to show China and Russia ( and others ) they were capable of launching a large scale attack. By Jan '68, for months there had been a lull in fighting by the North and the VC leaving both the US and Saigon complacent and off guard. Taking advantage of the Tet holiday was the cherry on top since large numbers of the Saigon forces would be away from their duty stations and US forces would be supposedly observing a 'truce'. By hitting the South under these circumstances they shocked the world. This gave the North leverage in getting supplied by allies while forcing the US and allies to seriously seek a peace treaty and leave eventually. It worked and four years later the US pulled out exactly as the North had wanted. They finally won over the corrupt gangster government in Saigon and achieved their long sought goal of unity.

You mean to say you think there was a year when Vietnam could have gone the other way? The point of no return was 1965 when LBJ sent in 200,000 troops. From there it was just a matter of time until the US went home.

In 1972 Bombing restrictions were removed during Linebacker One and after The North was brought back to the table by this it was relaxed again and The North decided it was over and they could stall the talks ! Then Linebacker Two and the mining of Haiphong Harbor drove The North back to the peace table and a signing of the Peace Agreement in Jan 73 ended the US Military involvement of the War! The North sat back and waited for a more weaker Democrat ruled Congress in 1975 and invaded The South and we abandoned are allies and renigged on promised support of SouthVietNam if invaded! 1968 was a turning point in Media (Walter Cronkite the most trusted newsman on TV) who said after TET the war is unwinnable! The ever increasing non- support for the War by a radical group of Professors and Students! Nixon actually did what he promised he brought the troops home and had a Peace Agreement but was soon brought down by a stupid campaign trick gone wrong, Watergate, looking for dirt on his opponet among other indiscretions! Sound familair! USN 68-72 Vietnam Veteran with 24 mo's Combat Pay and CAR ribbon!

We shoulda have never been there… and what did the us actually do good there?

right 1965

it's not that he cooked the books, rather it's that he cooked the books.!!! Was this guy real?

Is there a word in this that isn't rehash?

He seemed to think that that it would helped to *focus group* the _Viet-Nam_ war.

The pivotal year was 1963. The mistakes the US made after that are well documented, but the idea that the Communists were reasonable people was perhaps the greatest mistake the Americans made. If it wanted a settlement it needed to hold the North's feet to the fire, and continue doing so.

Mr McMahon in his long lecture has alot to say but doesn't really say anything of substance or introduce anything we haven't heard before. This lecture is very disappointing because it is a summary of historical events already so thoroughly examined by historians.

Rewriting history again, are we?