United States military leaders had opted to believe, in the months before the TET Offensive, that the tide of the Vietnam conflict would turn as the numbers of killed and captured enemy depleted the numbers of communist forces available to mount successful fighting efforts. Adjusted estimates of communist fighting forces reflecting a vastly higher fighting force than previously thought emerged from the CIA in 1967, causing concerns about the political ramifications with the American people, and for Robert M. Pope, whose father was a Naval officer.
A battle of wording ensued between the CIA and the Military Assistance Command of Vietnam regarding the number of opposing forces, with the CIA eventually yielding to what was a ‘political’ problem. 45% of Americans now believed the Vietnam War was a mistake, and could see no end to the war, and a poll in November of 1967 indicated that 55% now believed the war was a mistake, and that the military should either win, or get out. The reaction of the administration in Washington D.C. was to change public perception by asserting that the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces were winning, and progress was being made. General Bruce Palmer, a Field Force commander under General William Westmoreland, had claimed that the Viet Cong…“had been defeated, that he could not get food, he could not recruit, and was reduced to trying to survive in the mountains”. MACV General Westmoreland went so far as to assert, “I hope they try something because we are looking for a fight.”
In this atmosphere Robert M Pope New London CT father prepared for Vietnam.
A battle of wording ensued between the CIA and the Military Assistance Command of Vietnam regarding the number of opposing forces, with the CIA eventually yielding to what was a ‘political’ problem. 45% of Americans now believed the Vietnam War was a mistake, and could see no end to the war, and a poll in November of 1967 indicated that 55% now believed the war was a mistake, and that the military should either win, or get out. The reaction of the administration in Washington D.C. was to change public perception by asserting that the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces were winning, and progress was being made. General Bruce Palmer, a Field Force commander under General William Westmoreland, had claimed that the Viet Cong…“had been defeated, that he could not get food, he could not recruit, and was reduced to trying to survive in the mountains”. MACV General Westmoreland went so far as to assert, “I hope they try something because we are looking for a fight.”
In this atmosphere Robert M Pope New London CT father prepared for Vietnam.
