They said the same thing after the Tet Offensive
Today’s American military leaders are experiencing, in a smaller dose, what many of their forerunners went through after the Tet Offensive. A remote American outpost in Afghanistan was abandoned after being successfully defended against attacks by Taliban forces. In the wake of the attack, and as part of General McChrystal’s strategy shift, the base has been abandoned and destroyed as priorities shift to more populated areas.
One of the commanders in the Keating fight rejected any suggestion that the battle was a defeat and was frustrated that it could appear that way, especially since he estimated that as many as 100 to 150 attackers were killed in the fight.
The Tet Offensive was a surprise attack coordinated simultaneously across Vietnam by North Vietnamese forces. It was a failure, though, as the general population failed to throw their support behind the North Vietnamese and US & South Vietnamese forces defeating the North Vietnamese in every area of operation. By any measurable means, the offensive was a complete failure. Until Walter Cronkite declared on American television that Vietnam couldn’t be won.
The unnamed US commander in the Keating fight now has his own taste of that bitter medicine that is reporting the opposite of what happened. The enemy forces are defeated — the battle is won. That’s called, simply, a victory. Good job, Soldiers.