should we have stayed in Nam?
We should have WON in Vietnam. That would mean going into the North and taking the war TO the Communists instead of trying to fight a purely defensive war. That would mean that if one is afraid of the Chinese doing what they did in Korea, making it clear to them that we will not back down and train the South Vietnam Army to invade while we defended their homeland.
That would mean that when we promise to come to the South's aid in the event the Communists broke their treaty, we actually come to their aid instead of abandoning them for the sake of public opinion.
That would mean that when we make treaties; we do not allow the enemy to keep 144,000 of their troops in South Vietnamese territory so that we can falsely claim to the low information voter we have made peace.
You cannot win a war by not fighting one. However, the American soldier NEVER lost a battle in Vietnam even in the face of overwhelming odds. We allowed the Communists to have the victory they could not obtain by burying our collective heads in the sand, ignoring the massive sacrifice made by 58,000 of our men and women thanks to the partisan buffoonery of Democratic politicians who were the one's that got us there in the first place.
what possible cost/benefit analysis did you do to come up with 'even if it's forever'?????
That is very simple; review history and find a time where victory meant running away from one's enemy or the enemies of freedom and liberty.
What was the cost of WWI by completely disarming and disengaging?
What was the cost of the Korean conflict by pulling out and disengaging?
What was the cost of Vietnam by pulling out and disengaging?
Only naïve gullible morons think that one can negotiate or reason with thugs, tyrants and despots and only morons think that one can fight tyranny by running away from it.