The guerilla wins if he does not lose

FIFTY years ago, in January 1968, Vietnamese revolutionaries launched a series of military attacks known as the Tet Offensive. It was a strategic masterstroke that shattered the myth that the United States could win the war. The aftermath of the offensive effectively toppled an American president, and forced a new president to seek withdrawal of US forces, allowing the North Vietnamese to seize victory in 1975.

The lessons of the attacks during the Tet Lunar New Year festival are just as relevant today for both the US and its enemies in the Middle East.

The war in Afghanistan has entered its 17th year, with defeat staring the US in the face as it has proved unable to fight a guerrilla war, just as it had failed in Vietnam. Besides, Afghanistan presents its own lessons, having defeated several imperial powers in the past.