Tet Redux?

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Thirty-seven years ago, America was involved in a war overseas that was very unpopular with the media and the growing left-wing movement. Even though it was democrats JFK and LBJ who got us into the war, the liberal tide washed hard against it. In Vietnam, America was winning all the battles (all of them)- and the overall tempo of the war was looking pretty good. We were training the ARVN to stand up and take over for itself (sound familiar?), and were making real progress in that respect.

Whether or not the original intent of our involvement in Vietnam was wise or not became irrelevant. We had committed and we had spilled American blood in helping the South Vietnamese remain free of the evil scourge of communism. Now was the time for courage and grit. Staying the course would mean more sacrifice, but also a very predictable successful ending down the road. In fact, the North Vietnamese general in charge, a man named Giap, was becoming desperate. He knew that, with the strengthening of the South Vietnamese Army, the end was in sight for the communist forces (sound familiar?).

That's when he hatched the idea for the Tet Offensive. Counting on the "oppressed" people of the South to rise up and join his forces when the offensive began, General Giap figured this would be the great turning point he so desperately needed to defeat the American invaders.

Well... not only did his plan not work, it became one of the most disastrous military defeats in history. Fifty thousand dead NVA and VC fighters- with countless more wounded and missing/captured, against barely a thousand American and allied dead and a few thousand more wounded. Additionally, the people in the South did NOT rise up against the Americans... in fact, many of them helped us.

The Tet Offensive was a complete and utter failure.

That is, until the American media got involved. Walter Cronkite decided to step in and suggest that, based on Tet, we were losing the war. As ridiculous as this seemed to anyone paying attention, it echoed around the media and soon started to stick (sound familiar?). Before long, the anti-American liberals were energized and had worked themselves into a drugged and fevered frenzy.

The rest is, sadly, history.

Today, we find ourselves in similar circumstances. Now, I'm not for a minute suggesting that Iraq is Vietnam... only that our national response has many similarities. Predictably, the anti-American liberals have been working relentlessly to help our enemies. From the "scandals" of Abu-ghraib and Guantanamo and the vicious attacks on our military recruiters and troops at home to the all out war on the President, the deranged far left has been doing more than its share for the good of the terrorists.

Also eerily reminiscent of Tet is how our media has handled the war. On this site, and on countless others, it has been pointed out how incredibly biased the media has been. Their shameful behavior has, without question, emboldened and strengthened the enemy and has lead to increased American casualties.

Most telling is their enshrinement of cindy sheehan, the shrill- and quite insane- torch bearer for the deranged far left movement. The media intentionally thrust this deluded woman into national prominence based on nothing more than her vitriolic hatred for the President. Then, even after it became apparent that she was anything but an "innocent grieving mother," the media covered up for her seditionist statements and cropped pictures to hide ugly truths about her. She became a living metaphor for how the media wants America to lose the war.

The spectacle of the "peace" protests last weekend is another shining example of how we are replaying 1968. In fact, in the coverage of those protests you can see a miniature version of Tet play out. The protests were, by all rational accounts, nothing more than a collection of various anarchist and communist/socialist groups, all with various gripes about America. They all saw in the protest day their chance for a national stage to vent their delusional rage... and the media did not disappoint them.

Instead of showing the spectacle for what it was, the old media told the nation (and the world) that "hundreds of thousands" of regular Americans took to the streets to protest the war. The blatant and fundamental falsehood of this was lost on many normal Americans who are too busy to look very deeply into the news coverage. Therein lies the left's only chance at succeeding in their sedition.

Influencing public opinion away from the truth is much like performing magic tricks. It is best done with sleight of hand and misdirection- tools that our modern media wields with uncanny skill. Whether subtle, like in the average AP or Rueters article, or direct, like in michael moore's crap-u-mentaries; the misdirection and misleading have brought trouble to America. Normal people have been tricked into believing the most insane things, and are being influenced away from their own common good to be pawns in advancing socialist and liberal agendas that would make them vomit if they saw these things for what they are.

Even in their decline, the old media types are still capable of great mischief. In fact, they can legitimately be proud of how they almost won the election for john kerry. Using the tactics pioneered by the old liberal Cronkite, they have managed to drive a wedge between President Bush and lots of Americans who would otherwise support his common sense approach to fighting the terrorists. They have definitely succeeded in making lots of otherwise good Americans dislike their President- for reasons that are not based in reality and fact.

Tet was all about changing the course of the war. General Giap wanted to strike a decisive blow that would make the people of the world stand up and notice how powerful his forces were. Today, the terrorists are facing a very similar situation. Like Giap, they know that the end is in sight, unless something changes. Unlike Giap, they know the real power of their media allies and have been using it very adeptly.

The pawns and tools masquerading as reporters and editors have brought much glory and many small victories to the "holy" warriors... and there will, no doubt, be many more to come. The course of this war will change dramatically when and if Americans no longer support it... and that is what is driving the media and the anti-American liberals into their final feeding frenzy.

They believe the end is in sight- and it is showing. Like the Viet Cong before them, they know they have to hurry. Every Iraqi army battalion that stands up brings the terrorists, and the anti-American media and liberals with them, one step closer to final defeat. Their full-court press was begun with the "peace" protests and has continued with the attacks on Republican leaders in the house and senate.

You didn't think it was all just a big coincidence, did you? No... this is their Tet. The coordinated efforts of the liberals and the old media are in their final push to sink America, once and for all, into defeat.

The one thing they didn't count on, though, was the new media. Americans would be completely lost in this overwhelming leftist propaganda, were it not for bloggers and talk radio. If the new media had existed in 1968, it is undeniable that the outcome of the war would have been very different.

Today, like the Marines at Khe-Sanh (God bless them all!!!), the new media is dedicated to holding the line and keeping the lies at bay. It is, without doubt, an uphill struggle... but the battle has been joined, and I believe it will, in time, be won and the truth will come forward... so long as we all continue to keep the faith.

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