Patrick Sheehan

6%
Flag icon
Television also changed what military victory and defeat looked like. In 1968, the Vietcong launched the Tet Offensive against South Vietnam and its American allies. The surprise operation quickly turned into a massive battlefield failure for the attackers. Half of the 80,000-strong Vietcong were killed or wounded; they captured little territory and held none of what they did. But that wasn’t what American families watching in their dens back home saw. Instead, 50 million viewers saw clips of U.S. Marines in disarray; scenes of bloody retribution and bodies stacked deep. The most dramatic ...more
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
Patrick Sheehan
My father was always pissed off by this dichotomy, blaming the reporters rousted from brothels and bars and other “comforts” by the insurgent communist guerrillas for the mismatched and poor sentiment.
Likewar: The Weaponization of Social Media
Rate this book
Clear rating
Open Preview