"For it seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate. This summer’s almost certain standoff will either end in real give-and-take negotiations or terrible escalation; and for every means we have to escalate, the enemy can match us, and that applies to invasion of the North, the use of nuclear weapons, or the mere commitment of one hundred, or two hundred, or three hundred thousand more American troops to the battle. And with each escalation, the world comes closer to the brink of cosmic disaster." -Walter Cronkite
Stale Mate
As the years went by and the war started escalating, the U.S. realized that unless they invaded North Vietnam, they weren't going to win the war. In the beginning the U.S. thought they could win them over little by little, killing them off. After North Vietnam and the Viet Cong's Tet Offensive surprise attack, that plan for the U.S. was gone. They had realized how big their opponent really was. At this point the Vietnam war is a stalemate. They knew that if they made a treaty or a negotiation of some sort that they could start to send troops home and the war wouldn't be so intense. The U.S. also knew that if they tried to surprise attack North Vietnam and the Viet Cong they would be defeated in days and the war would end in a brutal way and thousands more lives would be lost.
After the U.S. realized what kind of trouble they were really in they started down sizing the number of troops in Vietnam over time and sent troops home and excepted defeat by stalemate.
After the U.S. realized what kind of trouble they were really in they started down sizing the number of troops in Vietnam over time and sent troops home and excepted defeat by stalemate.