09-09-2007, 01:00 AM
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#5
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Not a casual user
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: A simple man leading a complicated life....
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When General Petraeus Speaks, Don't Listen ...
http://www.disinfo.com/site/displayarticle20386.html
Quote:
'On the cusp of General David Petraeus' report on the "surge" of American troops in Iraq we should recall one of the most important if neglected lessons of the war in Vietnam: Don't listen to generals.
'During the Vietnam War, America's top generals were consistently wrong in their assessments and recommendations. The generals' display of bad judgement began a dozen years before America's withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975. In October 1963, with about 17,000 U. S. military "advisers" in Vietnam, the top U. S. commander, General Paul D. Harkins said, "I can safely say that the end of the war is in sight." General Charles J. Timmes the head of America's Military Assistance Command added, "we have completed" the job of training the South Vietnamese Army.
'A month later, the situation had become so desperate in Vietnam that President John Kennedy approved a coup by South Vietnamese generals that led to the assassination of President Ngo Diem. It didn't help.'
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