Gentlemen,

I submit our Nation has not prevailed in a war since WWII. This has given our current enemies hope that they can exhaust and defeat us. I am intrigued by the idea that had we decisively defeated North Korea, would Vietnam have occurred? I believe that because we accepted something less than victory in Korea that our leaders have made our nation more vulnerable and emboldened our enemies in the present age.

Had we done as McArthur advised and razed parts of China...done whatever was necessary to win in Korea on the order of what we did, with the U.K. and Soviets in WWII...that the modern world might look much different than it does today. Certainly we would not be facing the threat of nuclear missiles launched from North Korea on American soil or used to attack U.S. forces in the Pacific...or given to a government or terrorist organization that would use them against us? Was our weakness in fighting communism in Korea something which emboldened and inspired our communist enemies in Vietnam? Would they have done so if the U.S had won decisively in Korea and if we had used all elements of national power to make the communists in Vietnam understand what would happen to them if they decided to fight: Annihilation?

I believe this is an important question as it relates to our present struggle and how our enemy views us. There are important consequences to losing a war, some of which are not realized for a generation or two. Certainly we know our enemy cites our failure to win in Vietnam as an inspiration to outlast and exhaust us. Great powers can never lose a war; they must always be viewed as having won decisively.

Further, our weakness since WWII, I believe, has and will have significant consequences for the current world order. Should we lose in Iraq and elsewhere, who will view us as: 1. a reliable ally; 2. an enforcer of peace among the great powers. If I were Taiwan or Japan, I would not trust U.S. resolve. This is disastrous.

Does anyone have any books or research to recommend that could shed light on this? What are your thoughts?

Very respectfully,

CR