U.S. Forces peaked in Vietnam on or about 540,000 in 1968 after the Tet offensive by the NVA/Viet Cong. As we all know it was a tactical victory for the US/ARVN but a strategic defeat as the US knew the game was up after Tet.
Most US ground forces had left the Nam byearly 1971 leaving a US Air war in most parts. The Me lie incident happened in early 1968 but covered up until 1969, most of the collapse in moral, Fragging of Officers, Drug taking on a large scale happen after it was known the US ground forces were pulling out, and nobody wanted to be the last grunt to die in the Nam.
There are now tell-tale signs of similarity’s with Vietnam in Afghanistan in a much smaller scale, but it is there. The pissing on the Taliban dead, burning of the Quran, the recent case of shooting of Afghan civilians and the holding up of arms and legs Taliban Bombers by members of the US Airborne are only the incident we know about. It is now known that ground forces will be out by 2014 not a long time, but a similar time scale from the end of 1969 to 1971.
I have also read about the moral of some US units is collapsing which now should come as no surprise with the burden that some of these poor souls have been putting up with, and it does not take a Mystique Meg to see that other incident are just round the corner and possibly much worse. The only thing now is will we leave with dignity or with our tails between our legs and the pull out becomes a torrid few months. If I am wrong about the above I would be a very happy person knowing it will all end well.
The loss of the Vietnam conflict can be talked about all day, but the colapse in US moral after 1969 is plain to see in the history books