From: knguyen@emr1.emr.ca (Kim Nguyen)
Subject: Some judgements about Tet Offensive 1968 and one painful memory
Organization: Energy, Mines, and Resources, Ottawa
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 02:34:02 GMT



-OPTIMISM OF TAKING POWER :

That massive surprise offensive during the Tet (lunar new year) Vietnamese 
festival was a big turning point for the SVN populace's feeling towards Viet 
Cong.  

What ever the reason, no one could break the tradition of the Tet. All people
in Vietnam, China and East Asia must stop fighting, quarreling; they often
gather in their older's house to pay tribute to their ancestors and at the
same time, to conciliate each other.

Truly, Viet Cong, NVN or communist world never like old traditions; they would 
start a new era with new traditions which are tainted by communist images. 
That 
is a revolutionary tradition which favors naturally cult.

What the meaning of a day in the year is not important as long as the day
fits with their aim. So they did it.

People have experienced killings by Viet Cong and heard propagandas from
broadcasting stations in Saigon, but anyhow, they still held some skepticism.
This attack became an undeniable testimony for the illusionment of the 
populace.

Didn't Viet Cong acknowledge that ultimate wrondoing ? They did but, they 
were so optimistic that if the attack could have been held for a few days, 
the populace could turn back to support them when seeing problems with 
mismanagement of leadership of South Vietnam. Some communist units did stay in 
many cities, but what they saw was just ordinary people who stared at them 
with 
scared gesture. As before, there must be only two kinds of people, followers 
and enemy. So they did kill them all without mercy, especially religious 
people.

MAKING ECHO TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CONTINENT

Whether or not the offensive could be successful, this still had a strategic 
effect on the other front of the war, the psychological one.

It did convince some Americans that, contrary to their government's 
claims, the insurgency in South Vietnam could not be crushed, the war 
would continue for years to come.

This offensive was intended to harmonize with the peace movement which started 
from 1967 in US. It did enhance and support manipulation of peace 
activists; this manipulation is to augment the sentiment against US 
participation in war. Yes, it did. People started to see anti-war feeling 
mounted and mounted. And....psychological warfare did prevail. 

So I am still sure that the peace movement in US did keep a biggest role and 
was
the main culprit for defeating US right at her backyard. I try to rethink about
my reasoning, but fail to find other reasons to make a superpower like US can 
be 
defeated if not by "few" communist sympathizers who used their intelligence to 
deceited their own people.

From this, I think that George was cute to know about the past so that he did 
stick with UN resolution. With this psychological arm, he did make US 
invincible. What I mean is if we keep winning the psyhological warfare we 
keep winning in any battlefield. Of course, this is applied for only 
superpowers.

APPEARENCE OF DOUBLE-FACED MEN 

During few days of the offensive, hiding communists agents and hiding 
sympathizers did appear hastily with enthusiasm; the purpose was to make
an in-out attack.

Who were they ? They were communists under monk or priest's clothes, innocent 
students, laborious public servants, teachers, writers or reporters.....

In normal life, these monks or priests often teach followers to worship 
Buddha or God, now they are atheist. Those students who did protest unjustice,
unfairness now agree with a totalitarian regime. These teachers, writers 
and reporters, who would like to bring more knowledge to others so that we
can decide which is wrong or right, now jsut would like to teach or 
inform only about communism. They were all party members, party loyalists 
or sympathizers.


SAD EXPERIENCE (sorry for talking about my ego !)

I spend all my high school year in Mytho, my beloved hometown (80 km 
south of Saigon). I adore one of my literature teacher who is also a 
writer. This teacher is so great that he can learn by heart verse by
verse in many works-of-art and decipher logically them. One of them
is KIEU by NGUYEN DU.

After Tet Offensive, I saw his name on lists of caught communist agents on 
newspaper. I could not understand why he joined communists who did kill
lots of people in this offensive.

So with techniques of manipulation and propaganda to stimulate skillfully 
people's conscience, they can catch all kinds of people into the net. After
sieving them, they just keep almost poor and uneducated ones and create true
communists. The rest would be used but never be trusted; the latter can be
eliminated at any time. I din't know exactly what category my teacher is in,
but, interestingly, after 1975, when still living in Saigon, I heard that
he emerged in a high post of a literature society controlled by the party.



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