Walter Cronkite Remembers His Tet Offensive Editorial
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- On Feb. 27, 1968, CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite broadcast an editorial criticizing the escalation of U.S. forces in Vietnam. In the aftermath of the Tet offensive, Cronkite had traveled to Vietnam to interview soldiers and civilians. Returning to the United States, Cronkite shared his observations with the American public. In favor of diplomatic negotiations, Cronkite rejected President Lyndon B. Johnson's optimism for further military deployment to end the standoff between U.S. and Viet Cong forces. In a 1996 interview, Cronkite remembers the effect his editorial had on President Johnson, who was reported to have said, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."
There will always be controversy over Walter Cronkite's views of the Tet Offensive.
God bless him!
Cronkite was anything but an un-biased newsman. When he came back from Vietnam and announced the war was a "stalemate" this truly had an affect on the public's opinion of Vietnam.
Not a "fair and balanced" journalist in my eyes.
It was an editorial doofus which he clearly stated before he said it. And he was just stating the obvious anyway. Also the war went on for 6 more years after that so apparently the Nixon Administration didn’t agree and tried to prove otherwise. They were wrong
Sorry for your families loss. My dad got out 8/63 so glad he did because he would have been in the same job.
The only way the war could have been 'won' would have been to send a corps-sized force into Laos to cut the Ho Chi Minh trail and keep them there. Which is just what Eisenhower concluded after his own private, personal study of the military problems in Indo-China in 1960. He told this to both Kenneddy and Johnson and was ignored.
It happened 50 years ago today, and I still can't find the full editorial (even those clips that are on CZcams are snippets of the full thing.) Does anyone have the full video, and if so, please POST IT like yesterday.
m.czcams.com/video/3Toy2wFBkmg/video.html
@10Dec1971
No it wasn't a waste. Every american soldier fighting against comunism all around the globe built a step to our liberty, in Eastern Europe. He fought for our liberties, for our future. Soldiers of my country are fighting right now in Afghanistan against talibans and they fought in Irak too. Some are dying and some people are saying here in Romania that this is a waste. Simply you must go there to fight for the future of humanity.
My mother died of cancer two weeks ago. It's hard...
God bless you Mr. Cronkite!!
When was this?
nice prophecie!!!
My dad was in the Army. He was a door gunner in Vietnam from December 1969-November 1970. He died of Agent Orange related lung/brain cancer on March 20, 2008. Vietnam was a WASTE!!!
R.I.P.
Walter Cronkite
1916-2009
Hook'em,Walter!!
RIP, Walter Cronkite.
So your Dad dies about 40 years later and because he was in Vietnam that makes it Agent Orange related
@jy768 soz for the comment revival but so you seriously remember a time when the world was not gray?
the link can be made, just as they can make links between types of cancers and the events of september 11th. In any case, the way the US fought Vietnam was futile.
What color is the sky in your world?
Is author sifting thru these comments, and will mine be deemed worthy to post, or too opinionated? Lets see if author betters the "state run" drive-by consensus media and allows my posts? Yet the unusual thoughtfulness of these posts may show that there is method in his madness; I don't see F bombs & illegible posts here, for SOME reason... G' nite.
Like alot of Vietnam journalists, Walter Cronkite conducted what can only be described as "parachute journalism" or fake news with regard to the Tet offensive. With a few notable exceptions, Vietnam journalists had a reputation for sipping martinis on the rooftops of nice Saigon hotels and every once in a while going into the field to photograph the dead after a conflict to put forward stories that often only supported their preferred narrative (very often out of context). Regarding the Tet offensive reporting, Walter was no different. The intentional lack of reporting on the massive Hue Massacre during the Offensive by the NVA should forever sit squarely on the shoulders of American Media as a blatant example of bias and poor journalistic integrity. It's not that there were no reports but for a massacre that dwarfed American atrocities throughout the entire war, it was largely swept under the rug by the media who knew what had happened in Hue. One can only assume it didn't merit attention because it didn't align with their preferred narrative. Cronkite, In this interview, seems to be working hard to protect his own legacy. Caring more about that than those effected by his fake news. There are no Vietnam historians (conservative or liberal) with integrity that would argue that the Tet offensive was anything other than a massive military victory for the South and U.S. forces in Vietnam. Cronkite chose to ignore the facts on the ground. U.S. forces, with one hand tied behind their backs fighting a "limited war" never lost a battle in the entire Vietnam conflict. In Tet 68, all historians worth their salt, know that the Viet Cong were absolutely decimated in just a few days...never to rise again as a threat to the South. Cronkite knew better but chose a different narrative. Many Americans didn't question the fake news and as a result Ho Chi Mihn and General Giap accomplished everything they wanted to from the Offensive
Defend ourselves against who? The Vietnamese? Were they on their way over here?
Asking cronkite about what he thought of an editorial he read is like asking harrison ford how what he thought of the lines he said playing han solo. totally irrelevant.
That whole damn channel is a 24-hour op-ed piece!
VietNam wasn't even close to Communism. Remember Communism only exists in theory. We've been raised to believe that Democracy is the best and only answer.
where do you get your facts? "incalculable damage???"
cronkite lied about Vietnam.
I am no fan of Cronkite but blaming him for US problems in Vietnam is not logical. The method and tactics of the US intervention were tailor made for failure. The failures and the anti-war movement were there before Cronkite said anything (as well they might in light of such a fisaco).
My, aren't you the cute little intellectual! A turd is dead today, yipee.
I doubt it. We were fighting a people who were still in the agricultural age. How can atomic bombs stop people who rushed arms on bicycles? What we should have done is support Ho Chi Minh in his attempt to throw off French colonialism and to keep him independent of Russian and Chinese Communists, like Marshall Tito in Yugoslavia.
Ultimately, we won the war, for Vietnam has gone capitalist. Vitenamese hate the Chinese, a lesson that Lyndon Johnson never learned!
I hope that some day Cronkite and Arnold are both remembered for what they were.
Traitors!
Gees, like we should have been there in the first place. Or would you hawks rather have allowed it to escalate to nuclear war?
God, that is well spoken, jy768 ! And this section of comments is so above-youtube average! The current political correctness / moral relativism that OK's Dr. Tiller sucking out 9 mo. old babes' brains and, in his words, "crushing their skulls in a manner similar to a lobster shell" to withdraw thru undilated cervix reminds me of the nutty American / Hindu amalgamation devotions from Sai Baba sent to me by a CA relative. Nobody responsible for nothing, and only error is thinking reality is real
A little fact here.. Mr. Cronkite was the VERY first to show the Beatles on national tv and not Mr. Ed Sillyivan.
May you be in god's loving hands now.
Yep, Walter Cronkite's lies got us into Vietnam, amirite
No, his lies helped prolong it.
King of the fake newsies!
Well there is an intelligent commentary. Pretty brave when you say stuff like that from the safety of your mental institution. Hey everyone, look what the left has devolved into!
You who speak of compassion and understanding of this man have no clie how hypocritical you really are. For this man's (and all those anti war activist's) representation of the war and understanding of the war have done nothing but add 48,000 names to a granite wall. Meanwhile they spit on returning vets and speak of peace. Yes, you speak of compassion but you choke when it comes to supplying it. Dont be smug about your morality until its been tested. You could not possibly comprehend what those men went through, and not because they wanted to, because they had to.
no one cares