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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
The strategy employed in Vietnam by General Westmoreland is discussed in this 10 page paper. A major focus of the paper is on the use of attrition as a strategy with particular emphasis on the book A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan. An overview of the Vietnam conflict is also provided. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
10 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_Vietstrat.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
a great deal of social upheaval. Never before had the United States been so divided. Within the context of the war itself there were more controversies. One such controversy was
the role of General Westmoreland. The Readers Companion to American History states that this "U.S. commander in Vietnam, pursued an attrition strategy designed to inflict such heavy losses on the
enemy that its will to continue would be broken." These are powerful words. And there have been various books written that criticized Westmorelands tactics. One such book, by Neil Sheehan,
opposed the commanders attrition strategy as the author felt that the resulting loss of life was not worth trying to win a war that could not be won. It
is interesting to look back at Westmorelands strategies to see how he tried to win the war in Vietnam and how the enemy used strategies to oppose those tactics. First,
however, a brief look at the war and conditions which brought it about is relevant so that the assumptions may be discussed in context. II. The War The United
States longest war was the War in Vietnam which claimed approximately 58,000 Americans (RCAH). Beginning in 1964, the United States proceeded to spend $140 billion dollars in the ten years
that followed (RCAH). While the United States was very much involved in the conflict, purportedly to keep peace in the world by taking a stand against communism, the United States
was unable to get anywhere. Unlike other wars where America was victorious, by many accounts Vietnam was simply a mistake. To this day, it has few supporters. The actual
goal was to preserve an independent, noncommunist government in South Vietnam, but by April of 1975, the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) ruled the entire country (RCAH). The mission
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