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Joey
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Re: The New and Improved Joey? thread
Reply #6066 - May 15th, 2011 at 11:40am
" Under new leadership in both Washington and Saigon during the later years , crucially important differences included wisdom and stability in the ambassadorial post ; better field generalship ; a more adept national leadership involving Nixon , Kissinger and Laird --- even given the vigorous interneciene warfare they frequently waged against one another --- compared with LBJ and McNamara ; a wholly different approach to conduct of the war within South Vietnam , one in which population security , not body count , was the measure of merit ; different tactics in South Vietnam , with " clear and hold " rather than " search and destroy " the mode ; an attitude of nurturing and improving the South Vietnamese armed forces rather than basically shoving them out of the way , as was done in the earlier period ; concentration on " one war " involving pacification , combat operations , and improvement of South Vietnamese armed forces rather than fixation primarily on American combat operations ; and , of course , the radical differences in context and the American domestic scene , resulting in withdrawal of American forces rather than continually building them up , in eroding political support for the war , and ultimately in abandonment of the South Vietnamese . "  !!!!
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