# W: The lesson the Vietnam War teaches Americans is "not to quit"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/w-the-lesson-the-vietnam-war-teaches-americans-is-not-to-quit/380833>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [November 17, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/w-the-lesson-the-vietnam-war-teaches-americans-is-not-to-quit/380833 "2006-11-17T14:51:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/w-the-lesson-the-vietnam-war-teaches-americans-is-not-to-quit/380833/81 "2006-11-20T04:08:47Z")

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[QUOTE=Martin Hyde]  
Bush made a genuinely good faith effort to bring collective security back to the forefront when the Cold War ended, and he very successfully rallied the world around expelling Saddam from Kuwait.  
[/QUOTE]

Then he must want to strangle his son right now.

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**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/w-the-lesson-the-vietnam-war-teaches-americans-is-not-to-quit/380833/82 "2006-11-20T04:25:24Z")

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So, if he were to voice that desire, would it be his own contingent of Secret Service agents who wrestled him to the grond, or would Junior have to send some up to Kennebunkport from D.C.?

😃

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**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/w-the-lesson-the-vietnam-war-teaches-americans-is-not-to-quit/380833/83 "2006-11-20T09:46:16Z")

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[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno]  
You don’t think we should have gone in to Korea?  
[/QUOTE]

The UN went into Korea. Quite rightly too. The rest was just the US bully throwing its weight about.

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**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/w-the-lesson-the-vietnam-war-teaches-americans-is-not-to-quit/380833/84 "2006-11-20T09:51:24Z")

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[QUOTE=Martin Hyde]  
There’s a lot of people living in a free democracy in South Korea that probably strongly disagree that we should not have gotten involved there.

Virtually everyone who had Truman’s ear was saying pretty much the same thing. That the Korean battlefield had nothing to do with the larger scope of the Cold War and would be a waste of U.S. resources. I guess Truman decided to take the path that didn’t doom South Korea to an authoritarian regime for 50+ years (and counting.)  
[/QUOTE]

Learn to read what I write not what you wish to infer. Hint - at no time did I say the UN were wrong to be involved in Korea. I was pointing out the origin of the phrase.

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