"reason the war was lost"

When you look at the pure numbers of the war its hard to belive that the NVA and Viet Cong lost over "an estimated 2 million people." {though likly more than that} In any other conventional war that would have been all it took to win, pure numbers like that. I belive the reason that the war was lost is that most of the S.V. population never got into the war. Of course there were S.V. soldiers who fought along U.S. troops, but thats not what I mean. Take you average S.V. citizen in the 60's and 70's, most of the work over there was farming. Most of the farmers had a hard enough time making it from day to day trying to find somthing to eat. So the last thing that was really on their mind was what form of government was in charge. So there never was a massive backing from the people. If the government was Communist or Capitalist, old farmer Nyguen still had to go out to the rice paddies and farm. I do belive if there had been a major backing from the S.V. people, things would have been different. That might of changed attitudes over here if we knew that the S.V. people needed us badly, and wanted the U.S. to stay there. If the U.S. got the S.V. population to back them more than what they did, I bet that things would have been different. Even though we could not invade N.V. or Cambodia. Even through the rules of engagement. After the Air Forces B-52's leveled Hanoi, the N.V. and U.S. went to the peace table. The war slowed down and we pulled out. Then When our forces were disengaged the N.V. picked the war back up. Mainly because they had THE BACKING OF THEIR PEOPLE . The war ended when Saigon fell and end of story. AMERICA HAS NEVER LOST A WAR THAT WAS UNPOPULAR WITH THE PEOPLE.

       Hope this will help you look at the war in a different way.        
                    History Buff