#Tet Offensive

[guerillas-of-history]

A Viet Cong fighter fires on American positions with his M1A1 Carbine during the Tet Offensive. Hue City, South Vietnam. February 1968.

[sgtgrunt0331-3]

A U.S. Marine M60 gunner from Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, prepares to fire at NVA positions at the outer wall of Dong Ba tower, of the Citadel, in the city of Hue, February 1968.

(Photo by John Olson)

[captain-price-unofficially]

USMC M48A3 loader does a bit of housekeeping as the coaxial machinegun engages PAVN/VC positions in Hue, 21 Feb 1968

[karagin22]

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Why would a battle fought 54 years ago provide key insight on what Hamas' strategy is today?

Asymmetric Warfare. It's a term that most people don't really understand. Before I did this, I was a United States Army Green Beret and I did a couple of combat tours in Iraq. And needless to say, asymmetric warfare was kind of our thing.

So, in practical terms, it is a type of war between belligerents whose relative military power, strategy or tactics differ significantly. And as a result of this, the weaker opponent will use unconventional tactics in order to maximize one's strengths against a stronger opponent's weaknesses or vulnerabilities.

For instance, an Insurgent force does not have the freedom of movement or firepower necessary to attack a forward operating base or a heavily armed column. So instead, they focus on softer logistical targets. They may choose to use a remotely activated roadside bomb instead of engaging in direct fire.

In many situations, the weaker adversary has fewer personnel and resources. And so, a significant part of their strategy is to preserve those limited resources and use the munitions that they have to the greatest possible advantage.

But here's the thing. To pull this off long term, you generally need a consistent means of supply combined with enough territory to hit, run and then hide. And Hamas doesn't have these things, at least not in sufficient supply to win against the IDF.

So, what's their strategy? What can Hamas leverage that will allow them to conduct offensive operations against a much stronger opponent and then avoid getting destroyed by the IDF's vastly superior military capability?

And the answer to that question as horrific, as it is, is civilian casualties, but probably not the ones you're thinking.

To understand this, let's discuss that example 54 years ago. The Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War virtually wiped out the Viet Kong. It was by every objective measure, a complete tactical failure. But strategically, it was invaluable. Because while achieving none of its military objectives, the Tet Offensive shattered Americans' perspective on the situation on the ground.

Opponents of the war were able to effectively use the offensive as a demonstration of the futility of American involvement. Hollywood, Academia and many in the mainstream media went to work convincing the American people that the war couldn't be won. Or perhaps just shouldn't even be fought. And in a representative government, when the electorate decides that a war is lost, it is, regardless of the situation on the ground.

Now, understand something. I'm not making an argument for the pros or cons of fighting the Vietnam War. I'm merely illustrating a point about modern Asymmetric Warfare. The lesson of the Tet Offensive is when fighting the West, you don't defeat their military. You win their electorate. And the way to do that is through the institutions which shape culture in the West, namely Hollywood, the Media and Academia.

If Hamas had decided to engage in a conventional military attack directed at only legitimate military targets, the IDF would have effectively destroyed their war fighting capability within days, and Hamas knows it. So, they engaged in asymmetric strategy.

Once we understand this, their actions on October 7th, as horrific as they are, begin to make more sense. Hamas didn't just target civilians because they were easy targets or because they despise Jews, although both of those things are true. The attack and the subsequent taking of hostages was actually designed to elicit a major response from the IDF.

But why? Well, maybe it's because to achieve their strategic objectives, Hamas needs civilian casualties. And more specifically they need Palestinian civilian casualties. And this is why.

The two entities in this conflict that lose the most from a greater peace agreement in the Middle East are Iran and the terrorist organizations they support. Upsetting this process requires much more than the random launching of rockets into Israel or strikes against legitimate military targets. The IDF is more than capable of handling such incursions, and the Israeli people have become all too accustomed to weathering such attacks without demanding an overwhelming military response. something more significant was required.

And October 7th created the kind of conditions that demanded a significant and sustained response. They needed something so obscene that Israel would have no choice but to hit back hard.

And this is where the second component of Hamas' strategy plays out. How to get Palestinian casualties. Any government actually worried about civilian casualties dedicates resources to evacuating their own civilians from hostile areas and attempts to separate the civilian population from legitimate military targets. So what conclusion should we come to when a governing body decides to do the exact opposite?

In this asymmetric environment, Hamas is not only incentivized to kill Israeli civilians, they're incentivized to maximize their own civilian casualties in the short run in order to elicit Western intervention on their behalf. As easy as it might be to explain Hamas's strategy away as nothing but mindless bloodlust, it is actually more sinister than that.

Hamas is responding to the incentive structures certain elements within the West have created. Hamas understand that the real Battlefield is not in Gaza but in the streets, University halls and newsrooms of the West. And so that is their target. And while a ceasefire seems like a humanitarian response to the tragic death of civilians, leaving Hamas intact as an operational and governing body will ultimately just reinforce that the perverse incentive structure remains the same.

And that while the West may claim to "not negotiate with terrorists," they always seem to force Israel to as soon as it becomes politically inconvenient for them.

So here's the hard reality. If you actually want to achieve anything resembling a lasting peace in this part of the world, you're never going to achieve it by creating conditions where terrorists are incentivized to hurt both the civilians of their enemies, and their own in order to achieve their political objectives.

==

This, of course, was completely obvious from the moment of the al-Ahli Hospital hoax, where Western outlets worked overtime to spread Hamas propaganda without regard for truth, all the way through to the present-day "protests" which are anything but organic or grass-roots.

[sacredwhores]

Lukas Moodysson - Together (2000)

[gregor-samsung]

" President Nixon's chief foreign policy aide, Henry Kissinger, was also bathed and frustrated by the Communists during his secret negotiations with them. Kissinger had tried above all to avoid a repetition of the Inconclusive Korean war armistice talks, which had dragged on for two years because, he believed, America had not stiffened its diplomacy with the threat of force. He calculated that the North Vietnamese would compromise only if menaced with total annihilation—an approach that Nixon privately dubbed his "madman theory." But, like his predecessors, Kissinger never found their breaking point. His later claims to the contrary, the Communists agreed to a cease-fire in October 1972 only after he had handed them major concessions that were to jeopardize the future of the South Vietnamese government. The real pressure on the Nixon administration to reach a settlement in Vietnam came from the American public, which by that time wanted peace at almost any price—for reasons that Kissinger himself had perceived four years before. Early in 1968, on the eve of Tet, the Asian lunar New Year, the Communists had launched a dramatic offensive against towns and cities throughout South Vietnam, which Kissinger saw as the "watershed" of the American effort in Vietnam: "Henceforth, no matter how effective our actions, the prevalent strategy could no longer achieve its objectives within a period or with force levels politically acceptable to the American people." Americans had been prepared to make sacrifices in blood and treasure, as they had in other wars. But they had to be shown progress, told when the war would end. In World War II, they could trace the advance of their army across Europe; in Vietnam, where there were no fronts, they were only given meaningless enemy "body counts"—and promises. So the United States, which had brought to bear stupendous military power to crack Communist morale, itself shattered under the strain of a struggle that seemed to be interminable. An original aim of the intervention, first enunciated by President Eisenhower, had been to protect all of Southeast Asia, whose countries would presumably "topple like a row of dominoes" were the Communists to take over Vietnam. Ironically, as Leslie Gelb of The New York Times observed, the real domino to fall was American public opinion. The public, distressed by mounting casualties, rising taxes, and no prospect of a solution in sight, turned against the war long before America's political leaders did. "

Karnow Stanley, Vietnam - A History. The First Complete Account of Vietnam at War, Penguin Books, 1985 [1983]; pages 19-20.

[casbooks]

Books of 2023

Book 30 of 2023

Title: To the Limit: An Air Cav Huey Pilot in Vietnam Authors: Tom A. Johnson ISBN: 9780451222183 Tags: AC-47 Spooky, B-52 Stratofortress, CH-47 Chinook, CH-54 Tarhe, EOD, LAO Laos, LAO Laotian Civil War (1959-1975), LAO Operation Commando Hunt (1968-1972) (Laotian Civil War) (Vietnam War), LAO Operation Shining Brass / Prairie Fire / Phu Dong (1965-1975) (Laotian Civil War) (Vietnam War), O-1 Bird Dog, OH-13 Sioux, OH-23 Raven, OV-1 Mohawk, Pathfinders, UH-1 Huey, US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, US USA 11th Aviation Group, US USA 11th Aviation Support Group, US USA 12th Cavalry Regiment, US USA 12th Cavalry Regiment - 2/12, US USA 15th Medical Det. - Mercy, US USA 173rd Airborne Brigade - Sky Soldiers, US USA 1st Cavalry Division, US USA 1st Cavalry Division - 11th Pathfinder Co., US USA 20th Aerial Rocket Artillery Bn, US USA 20th Aerial Rocket Artillery Bn - 2/20 - Blue Max, US USA 227th Assault Helicopter Bn, US USA 227th Assault Helicopter Bn - C/227, US USA 228th Assault Helicopter Bn, US USA 229th Assault Helicopter Bn, US USA 229th Assault Helicopter Bn - A/229 - Bandit, US USA 229th Assault Helicopter Bn - A/229 - Python, US USA 229th Assault Helicopter Bn - B/229 - Preachers, US USA 229th Assault Helicopter Bn - D/229 - Smiling Tiger, US USA 229th Assault Helicopter Bn - D/229 - Tom Cat, US USA 478th Aviation Co, US USA 7th Cavalry Regiment, US USA 7th Cavalry Regiment - 1/7 - C Troop, US USA 7th Cavalry Regiment - 2/7, US USA 8th Cavalry Regiment, US USA 8th Cavalry Regiment - 1/8, US USA 8th Cavalry Regiment - 1/8 - B Troop, US USA 8th Cavalry Regiment - 1/8 - C Troop, US USA 8th Cavalry Regiment - 2/8, US USA 8th Engineer Bn, US USA 9th Cavalry Regiment, US USA 9th Cavalry Regiment - 1/9, US USA 9th Cavalry Regiment - 1/9 - C Troop, US USA Fort Polk LA, US USA Fort Rucker AL, US USA Fort Rucker AL - Hanchey Army Air Field, US USA Fort Wolters TX (1963-1973), US USA General Creighton Abrams, US USA General John "Jack" Norton, US USA General John Tolson, US USA LRRP Team (Vietnam War), US USA United States Army, US USA USSF Green Berets, US USA USSF Special Forces, US USMC 3rd MarDiv, US USMC United States Marine Corps, US USN Construction Battalions (Seabees), US USN SEALS, US USN United States Navy, USA 5th SFG, VNM 1968 Tet Offensive (1968) (Vietnam War), VNM A Louie Airstrip, VNM A Shau Valley, VNM An Khe, VNM An Lao Valley, VNM Ba To Airstrip, VNM Battle of Hue City (1968) (Tet Offensive) (Vietnam War), VNM Battle of Khe Sanh (1968) (Tet Offensive) (Vietnam War), VNM Bong Son, VNM Bong Son Pass, VNM Bong Son River, VNM Camp Evans (Vietnam War), VNM Camp Radcliff (Vietnam War), VNM Cay Giep Mountains, VNM Central Highlands, VNM Command and Control North/FOB-4 (Vietnam War), VNM Da Nang, VNM Dak To, VNM Dam Tra-O Lake, VNM Dia Dong, VNM Dong Ha, VNM DRV NVA 22nd Regiment, VNM DRV NVA 325C Division, VNM DRV NVA 325C Division - 7th Bn, VNM DRV NVA 325C Division - 9th Bn, VNM DRV NVA 3rd Division, VNM DRV NVA North Vietnamese Army, VNM DRV VC Viet Cong, VNM Highway 1, VNM Highway 19, VNM Hill 450, VNM Hill 814 (LZ Peanuts) (Vietnam War), VNM Ho Chi Minh Trail (Vietnam War), VNM Hon Kon (Hong Kong Mountain) / (Signal Mountain), VNM Hue, VNM Hue Phu Bai, VNM I Corps (Vietnam War), VNM II Corps (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Bird (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Dog (Vietnam War), VNM LZ El Paso (Vietnam War), VNM LZ English (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Geronimo (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Laramie (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Pat (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Pepper (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Sally (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Sandra (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Sharon (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Signal Hill (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Stud (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Thor (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Tiger (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Tom (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Two Bits (Vietnam War), VNM LZ Vicki (Vietnam War), VNM Marble Mountain, VNM Nui Mot (The Rockpile), VNM Operation Arc Light (1965-1973) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Delaware / Lam Son 216 (1968) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Jeb Stuart (1968) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Pegasus / Lam Son 207 (1968) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Pershing (1967-1968) (Vietnam War), VNM Phan Rang Air Base, VNM Phu Cat Mountains, VNM Quang Tri, VNM Quang Tri Province, VNM Qui Nhon, VNM RVN ARVN Army of the Republic of Vietnam, VNM Song Ba, VNM Song Chal Truc, VNM Song Re, VNM Song Re Valley, VNM Tam Quan, VNM US MACV Military Assistance Command Vietnam (Vietnam War), VNM US MACVSOG (1964-1972) (Vietnam War), VNM US UH-1 Huey Firefly Missions (Vietnam War), VNM US USAF Phu Cat Air Base (Vietnam War), VNM US USMC DHCB Dong Ha Combat Base (Vietnam War), VNM US USMC KSCB Khe Sanh Combat Base (Vietnam War), VNM US USMC MMAF Marble Mountain Air Facility, VNM US USMC QTCB Quang Tri Combat Base (Vietnam War), VNM Vietnam, VNM Vietnam War (1955-1975) Rating: ★★★★ (4 Stars) Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Aviation.US Army.Helos.Slicks, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Laotian Civil War.Aviation.Helos

Description: **The riveting memoir of a Vietnam War helicopter pilot. “When you step into a Huey with Tom Johnson, you’re in for the real thing. No one has previously captured the Vietnam helicopter experience with such gripping authority.”—Robert F. Dorr, author of Chopper   **   From June 1967 to June 1968, Tom Johnson accumulated an astonishing 1,600 flying hours piloting the UH-1 “Iroquois”—better known as the “Huey”—as part of the famous First Air Cavalry Division. His battalion was one of the most decorated units of the Vietnam War, and helped redefine modern warfare. Johnson’s riveting memoir takes us into key battles and rescue missions, including those for Hue and Khe Sanh. In harrowing detail, he tells of being shot down in the battle of A Shau Valley, of surviving enemy attacks during the Tet Offensive, and of a death-defying nighttime river rescue, in which only the bare feet of soldiers hanging off the Huey’s skids kept the helicopter from plunging under water. From dangerous missions to narrow escapes, Johnson’s memoir vividly captures the adrenaline rush and the horror of war, and takes you on a ride you’ll never forget.

[firstoccupier]

Lyndon B. Johnson and the Escalation of the Vietnam War (1965)

How to Lose a War and a Generation Lyndon Baines Johnson, a man who could twist arms in Congress like a Texas rodeo champ, met his match in the rice paddies of Vietnam. Fresh off the legislative triumphs of the Civil Rights Act and his “Great Society,” Johnson made the fatal mistake of believing he could apply domestic policy logic to a guerrilla war on the other side of the world. In 1965,…

[jakeandrewus]

2024 End of Year Sale

2024 End of Year Sale

Venta de Fin de Año 2024

Peace Be Unto You // And My Helmet as a Pillow, plus their respective Spanish translations: Paz A Vosotros // Y mi casco como almohada, will be promoted on @Smashwords as part of their 2024 End of Year Sale starting on December 12! This promotion is for my books and for many more! #SmashwordsEoYSale #Smashwords

Peace Be Unto You deals with the unquestionable divinity of Jesus Christ; And My Helmet as a Pillow tells my experiences while serving in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam war, including the Tet Offensive. Both books, and their Spanish versions, will cost you nothing during this special promotion. Merry Christmas! Jake Taylor

Download them here and search for the titles and author’s name:

Los libros Paz A Vosotros // Y mi casco como almohada – al igual que sus versiones en inglés están bajo promoción especial en @Smashwords como parte de su Venta de Fin de Año 2024 ¡comenzando el 12 de diciembre! ¡Esta promoción incluye a mis libros y a muchísimos libros más! #SmashwordsEoYSale #Smashwords

Paz A Vosotros trata sobre la incuestionable divinidad de nuestro señor Jesucristo; Y mi casco como almohada relata mis experiencias en el servicio militar con el Ejército de los EE.UU. durante la guerra de Vietnam, incluyendo la Ofensiva del Tet. Ambos libros, al igual que sus versiones en inglés se les obsequiarán gratuitamente en esta promoción especial. ¡Feliz Navidad! Jake Taylor

Bájelos aquí y búsquelos por título y por el nombre del autor:https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos

[paperbackyoga-blog]

Street Fighting Man

By Ed Staskus    Ziggy was ready to go home. He was more than ready. He had been in South Vietnam for one year and 29 days. His tour of duty was going to be officially over on January 30, 1968, which was tomorrow. He had the date circled. Tomorrow was also the beginning of the Lunar New Year. It was a week when families reunited and honored their ancestors, praying for luck, prosperity, and…

[thelazybutler]

The song "Mr. Postman" but the letter they're talking about is informing them their sweetheart died during the tet offensive

[sgtgrunt0331-3]

A squad of U.S. Marines cautously move through the rubble between two destroyed houses, during the battle of Hue, on February 17, 1968.

(Photo by: Bettmann/CORBIS)

[captain-price-unofficially]

In a still taken for a propaganda reel, a VC member shoulders her RPG-2 as her comrades charge under the VC flag, Tet Offensive.

[karagin22]

[tjeromebaker]

Poems To Carol: Written By Her Husband - Doc Peck - While Serving In Vietnam 1967 - 1968

Poems to Carol: Written By Her Husband While Serving In Vietnam These poems are a unique find. Carol Peck received the poems from her husband, Doc Peck. On a visit by her granddaughter, Holly, presented Carol with Doc Peck’s autobiography. Little did Holly know she was in store for an even greater surprise. Carol went to her attic and returned with a box of letters written to her during the…