In a CBS special, Cronkite concluded, "To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past, to say we are mired in a bloody stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory conclusion" ( Hallin, 1986, p.170) This did not help increase the support for our troops in Vietnam. The overall support for the war was diminished by Cronkite's report. The negative coverage of the war influenced politicians, the public, and the American soldier. Concerned with losing support, politicians started to really get involved. The TeT offensive was a last ditch effort for the communists.
There is no proof that this story has any truth. There is something no one has considered, the danger to our own soldiers when they are captured. Here again I quote: “Worse, you'll have the other side effects of torture. It "endangers our soldiers on the battlefield by encouraging reciprocity." It does "damage to our country's image" and undermines our credibility in Iraq.” (Applebaum) It undermines the work of our soldiers that are helping make Iraq into a country ruled by its people instead of a dictator.
Also, when America itself has problems, we should be more focused on correcting our own country rather than helping others. Not many people realize the fact that the U.S. really isn’t doing as well as we should be. Putting money into operations such as “Operation Iraqi Freedom” because of the fact that we lost an incredible amount of money on something pretty pointless. Iraq is still terrible and will continue to be terrible. Spending money on improving other countries isn’t always going to have a positive impact.
This was as Hall rightly says in C, a “Rude awakening to the realities of the war that prompted a re-evaluation of the nation’s commitment.” This is similar to Source A in the way that it refuses to focus on the statistics of the offensive, but look at the consequences of the assault, with the privilege of hindsight. This is what defines this source, what makes it right, that it does not take into account solitary and meaningless numbers but looks at the opinion of the people affected, be it in the public or government officials. It clearly presents the Tet for what it was, a larger reverse for the USA. It contradicts D as well, but C is right, the Americans had been exposed and this decreased the credibility of themselves, the South Vietnamese government and made people question the capitalist system. General Giap sums it up best when he states
The Vietnam War was completely different. The majority of the American people did not want to be involved in Vietnam and made it very clear to the entire nation. Without the support from the home front it is almost impossible to succeed. The American people were so passionate about maintaining peace for America that they actually caused chaos on American soil. The anti-war movements and protests reflected on the soldiers in Vietnam and led to the defeat of the US armed forces.
However it would have had a tremendous and awful impact on the United States society as it did represent the war as evil and criminal. The US Army always denied that the bombs they let off never hit civilian casualties; they stated that there was not many of them. The journalist's reports broadened, which was still furthering the credibility gap'. This is the state or condition of being dissimilar or unlike between the American military and government and what the American people had confidence in. The broader the gap is, not as much the people will believe.
My Lai Communication Project FQ1: What were the Causes of the My Lai Massacre? Key Historical Idea 1: The Charlie Company Situation The situation of Charlie Company in Vietnam was dire. They were experiencing a war different to all others, if it can be classed a war. When they arrived in Vietnam, they would have been expecting the Vietnamese to roll over in submission to the mighty American army. But that presumption couldn’t have been further from the truth.
In my opinion Operation Rolling Thunder (ORT) was a massive failure. As the US did not meet its official aims and objectives of stopping the spread of communism to Vietnam. It caused a lot of inexperienced soldiers to lose their lives. Also having a major effect on America its self as the country battled to juggle money to afford the cost of the war. But one of the hardest battle’s for the US was to keep their own countries support.
The author, O’Brien, seemed to shape the line between truth and story in a different direction. He explains it is difficult to differentiate what actually happened from what seemed to have happened. The author emphasizes that with writing war stories, there comes a complexity to it that most do not understand. The author, O’Brien, is very resentful of the Vietnam War. His past consisted of getting drafted into the war against his
8. War is a blunt instrument by which to settle disputes between or within nations, and economic sanctions are rarely effective. Therefore, we should build a system of jurisprudence based on the International Court—that the U.S. has refused to support—which would hold individuals responsible for crimes against humanity. 9. If we are to deal effectively with terrorists across the globe, we must develop a sense of empathy—I don't mean "sympathy," but rather "understanding"—to counter their attacks on us and the Western World.