Iraq, Baquba, Arrowhead Ripper, and the Real Elements of Victory

[Culpeper]

Actions after Tet 68 resulted in the Viet-Cong no longer being a viable fighting force. From that point on they relied very heavy on support from the NVA. You think that was a VC you killed but it was probably an NVA soldier sent south. But it didn't help in the long run. The Tet Offensive was depicted as a major setback for the United States and RVN and that depiction stuck for a long time. Just long enough. There wasn't much of a fallout from collateral damage. Hue is a good example of trying not destroy the culture and the culture saying to hell with it and get those NVA out of town one way or the other. If the electronic information platforms we enjoy today were in place in 1968 we would have seen a different public opinion and dissemination of information.