Hands Not Tied

The US's hands were not "tied" in Viet Nam; rather, we had and have a _civilian_ gov't in which the military is always to be _under_ civilian control.

Now go read the Pentagon Papers: the US gov't knew it could not win in Viet Nam, regardless approach or degree of escalation. There was no way the N.--or those in the S. fighting for self- determination free of even US interference--could match the actual amount of firepower used by the US. Still, the US lost.

Why did the US lose? Because the US was opposed by the majority of Vietnamese, N. and S.