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The fact is the US forced North Vietnam back to the negotiating table and to accept a cease fire in 1973 through the use of a close to unrestricted bombing campaign against the north combined with blockading North Vietnam's ports.

This cease fire was on terms that were not at all unfavorable to the North because they allowed the north to keep troops in South Vietnam.

Had the same tactics been used 8 years earlier - something that the military had advocated all along, the same result could have been achieved only on terms much more favorable to the US and South Vietnam.

I will completely agree that this is a historical "what if" discussion that can not be proved, however, the success of the tactics in 1973 certainly suggests the strong possibility that they would have worked 8 years earlier and resulted in much lower casualties for all involved in that war.

I will also point out that the idea that the US could not win as described above is also an historic "what if" since sound military tactics were never employed in Vietnam until 1972 after the US will to win had been broken and we were willing to accept a cease fire on terms favorable to North Vietnam.

Well if McCain did't learn, Obama never even knew.

McCain has forgotten more than Obama will ever know about winning and/losing war. Obama's only been a politician and in sweetheart deals that has put him on an undserved thrown. The crown don't fit.

He will be just like humpty-dumpty.

Another thing he didn't learn and never will, is what happened to the rest of the POWs that we left behind. He has blocked most every major attempt to rescue them and find out what happened to them.

As recently as last year there were stories that there may still be some survivors. Somehow those just go unnoticed.

The fact that he himself has blocked so many efforts to get at the truth makes me wonder what he doesn't want us to know about Vietnam.

As for escalating the war instead of calling it quits...there are some men who are only defined by war. The bigger the better. It's their place in history, no matter how many people have to die for that page in their book. They usually aren't very good at anything else and oftentimes not even that.

blocked the investigation of POWs in Vietnam.

Be specific.

As a member of the 1991–1993 Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, chaired by Democrat and fellow Vietnam War veteran John Kerry, McCain investigated the fate of U.S. service personnel listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War. Ron

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McCain has been a lightning rod for POW/MIA issues because of his status as a former POW and current Senator.

Somehow families of POWs and MIAs expect McCain to do the impossible, get a country that can't account for over 100,000 of its own people to spend more time accounting for the remains of a few hundred of ours.

McCain's done his part. Those with missing relatives simply don't think he's done enough.

Its a sad issue but the reality is that it really does not go deeper than that.