Window into victory: The ability of the United States to win the Vietnam War, 1964-1968

Abstract

Although many have argued otherwise, the United States could have won the Vietnam War, and they could have done it between 1964-1968. The US possessed the factors required to be victorious, but they were implemented incorrectly and thus led to defeat. Furthermore, the incorrect utilization of the American military's might does not rest solely at the feet of military commanders such as General William Westmoreland. Instead, those at fault are the men who felt obligated to attempt to run a war from the other side of the world, in Washington D.C. It was their decisions that led to the incorrect strategies and tactics being used, the combination of which resulted in the war's stalemate by 1969, America's defeat in 1973, and the fall of Saigon in 1975. Had the American military been utilized in the correct fashion, defeat could have been avoided and the war could have ended in 1968 with a victory for democracy.