| Monday,
November 13, 2006
Friday the 13th falls on Monday this month.
Column is up over at Chaos Manor
Reviews along with a new mail bag. Both pretty good if I do say so.
Subscriptions are coming in.
I am doing a NEW SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE: I need 100 new subscribers to get the
newest Mac using Intel Core 2 Duo. I realize that some of you are shaking
your heads and saying "Well, who doesn't?" and I can hardly blame you. I can
only say in my defense that I'm pretty well convinced this is the way to go
with new machines just now, and eventually I'm going to get one anyway: the
benefit to you is that with enough new subscriptions I start doing silly
things so you don't have to before the end of the year instead of sometime
next spring.
Meanwhile, I think I have solved plot problems in both Inferno 2 and
Mamelukes. I have to deal with certain forms of heresy in Inferno, and there
are a number of subplots in the Janissaries series that none of you are
aware of; I dare say there are a few even I am not aware of. I am aware of
Inspector Agzaral's plans, more or less, which gives me an advantage over my
other characters...
We got our flu shots today.
On Defeat in Viet Nam
Over the weekend I heard some radio talk show hosts talking about the US
defeat in Viet Nam. This annoyed me enough that I wasted time sending them
email, none of which received a reply, but it did cause me to copy the
following out of Col. Harry G. Summers On Strategy:
…the North Vietnamese evidently believed that by spring of 1972 their
strategy had succeeded. They believed that the United States was no
longer capable of supporting South Vietnam. They then selected a new
center of gravity – the destruction of South Vietnamese Armed Forces –
and once again massed their forces to assume the tactical offensive. On
29 March 1972 North Vietnam launched what was to become known as the
Eastertide Offensive. It becan with an armored attack across the DMV.
Leaving two divisions on Laos and one as a strategic reserve, North
Vietnam committed some 12 divisions – a total of about 150,000 men – to
the attack on South Vietnam. Supported by tanks, heavy artillery and
mobile antiaircraft units, they had some initial success. But they had
severely miscalculated both the fighting ability of the South Vietnamese
Army and the ability of the United States to react. As President Nixon
said, “The bastards have never been bombed like they’re going to be
bombed this time.” By July 1972, the North Vietnamese had reverted to
the tactical defensive. Their attempt to mass had proven disastrous –
again over 100,000 battle deaths.
Note that this was in 1972, and it was an invasion from the North, not some
kind of insurgency or guerrilla warfare or civil war. This was flat out
invasion by World War II sized forces, equipped with Soviet trucks and armor
and ammunition; and the result was total defeat for the North (many fewer
than 50,000 of those sent south ever got home again) and a total VICTORY for
the United States and our South Vietnamese allies.
Why would anyone call this a defeat for the United States?
Because, of course, in 1975 the North did it again. Not an insurgency, not a
guerrilla war, not a civil war, but a flat out invasion by more than 12
divisions, a World War II sized operation; and this time, instead of
supporting our South Vietnamese allies, the United States, on orders from
the Congress of the United States, did not give any air support and limited
our materiel aid to twenty (20) cartridges and two (2) hand grenades for
each South Vietnamese soldier. South Viet Nam accordingly fell, the United
States bugged out with the pathetic scenes of escapes from the roof of the
embassy and pushing helicopters off the decks of carriers to make room for
incoming. We bugged out, and the Reeducation Camps, Boat People, Killing
Fields, and other horrors began.
But we were not defeated. We withdrew on orders from the Congress. That
wasn't defeat.
The last time we engaged in Viet Nam we, with our South Vietnamese
allies, won a great victory.
Breaking an alliance with phased withdrawal is not defeat. It only feels
that way. Perhaps it ought to feel that way -- but our troops were ready to
engage the advancing North Vietnamese armored divisions. They didn't cut and
run. They were ordered to stand down and watch the slaughter of their former
allies and friends and soldiers they had trained.
God help us. God forgive us.
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