Vietnam War: Who was right about what went wrong – and why it matters in Afghanistan

We are following pretty much the same course as the Soviets did when they invaded in the long ago time; and the military seems to have forgotten that. It's also been proven that one cannot bomb a stoneage people; back to the stoneage. The problem is pretty much very similar to Iraq and what is occurring there; which in both cases should be seen as 'How do we get out of this mess?'. Following the steps we took in Vietnam proved somewhat disasterous; the only problem is that there really isn't a 'government' that can take the place of what is now there, and still control the country. Which is perhaps the only reason that Vietnam has survived and not devolve as did Cambodia and Myanmar.

"Escalation proceeded through a series of small steps, none of which seemed terribly consequential. Each succeeding step was taken in the optimistic belief that a little more effort – a bit more aid, a few more troops, a slight intensification of the bombing – would turn things around by signaling American resolve to stay the course."

There is a difference between giving the "appearance" of being willing to stay the course and the "fact" of being willing to stay the course - and the enemy is very quick to pick up on and act upon the difference.

If we are not willing to stay the course we shouldn't start.