> it seems to me that (1) the US lost the war because US troops were
> kicked out of VN and US imperial schemes were stifled temporarily in
> that area;
That's no small victory, no? Vietnam paid a fearsome toll in blood for its independence, but its victory also gave the other East Asian developmental states the breathing-space they needed to flourish. All those Cold War construction sites, aid packages, etc. jumpstarted Korea, Taiwan and the rest of Southeast Asia. Nowadays, those same East Asian countries are the biggest investors in Vietnam.
-- DRR