troop commitment (which reached nearly 550,000 in 1969), and some political stability in South Vietnam after the election (1967) of Nguyen Van Thieu as president, the United States and South Vietnam were unable to defeat the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces. Optimistic U.S. military reports were discredited in Feb., 1968, by the costly and devastating Tet offensive of the North Vietnamese army and the Viet Cong, involving attacks on more than 100 towns and cities and a month-long battle for Hue in South Vietnam.




If a draft were held today, it would be dramatically different from the one held during the Vietnam War. A series of reforms during the latter part of the Vietnam conflict changed the way the draft operated to make it more fair and equitable. If a draft were held today, there would be fewer reasons to excuse a man from service. Before Congress made improvements to the draft in 1971, a man could qualify for a student deferment if he could show he was a full-time student making satisfactory progress toward a degree. Under the current draft law, a college student can have his induction postponed only until the end of the current semester. A senior can be postponed until the end of the academic year. If a draft were held today, local boards would better represent the communities they serve. The changes in the new draft law made in 1971 included the provision that membership on the boards was required to be as representative as possible of the racial and national origin of registrants in the area served by the board.



Kundstadtler, Albert. Vietnam Passage. April 9, 2004 http://www.joeant.com/DIR/search.php?keywords=Vietnam%20draft

Harris, Tom. "How the U.S. Draft Works." How Stuff Works. April 9, 2004.
How Stuff Works Inc.
http://www.howstuffworks.com/u s-draft.htm

Poss, Larry. Bill Clinton's Letter to Col.Eugene Holmes. April 9,2004.
http://www.war-stories.com/clin ton-1.htm.

Viper's Vietnam Veteran Page. April 9,2004.
http://www.members.aol.com/ viperash50/page2/.

Hagan, John L. "Their Road Not Taken Went Back Home." April 9, 2004.
http://www.commondreams. org/views01/0617-03.htm.

Sobran, Joseph. "Anarchy Without Fear." April 9, 2004.
http://www.sobran.com/columns /021017.shtml.