is American public opinion. Our people won’t stand firm in the face of heavy losses, and they can bring down the government.” </p>
  <p class="MsoNormal">Fearful of this possibility, Johnson finally began de-escalating the war.</p>
  <p class="MsoNormal">More disturbing for the American Pentagon was the erosion of military discipline. Lacking a plausible reason for risking their lives in combat, American soldiers began disobeying their commanders and refusing to fight. By the late 1960’s, there was virtual internal civil war between the soldiers and their officers. Reporting on the state of affairs, military expert, Col. Robert Heinl of the Marine Corps warned: </p>
  <p class="Quote">“[By] every conceivable indicator, our army that now remains in Vietnam is in a state approaching collapse, with individual units avoiding or having refused combat, murdering their officers and non-commissioned officers, drug-ridden and dispirited w