The Historical Security Council is a permanent council established by the UN Charter, with the sole purpose of maintaining international peace and security. The UNSC is the only council that can force a nation to do something, as long as it passes in a Resolution. The UNSC may also establish subcommittees to aid its efforts, and can call for investigations of fact-finding missions to obtain more information on a dispute. In this case, our committee will work to revisit issues with the Korean War rather than establishing subcommittees. Within MCGSMUN, the Historical Committee will essentially function the same way as the Security Council; however, instead of debating current disputes, the HSC will debate historical disputes at the time they occurred. The committee will focus on the Vietnam War. We hope delegates will find this historical revision beneficial for the capacities of the security council.

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In late January, 1968, during the lunar new year (or “Tet”) holiday, North Vietnamese and communist Viet Cong forces launched a coordinated attack against a number of targets in South Vietnam. The U.S. and South Vietnamese militaries sustained heavy losses before finally repelling the communist assault. The Tet Offensive played an important role in weakening U.S. public support for the war in Vietnam.

The aftermath of Tet brought public discussions about de-escalation, but not before U.S. generals asked for additional troops for a wide-scale “accelerated pacification program.” The Tet Offensive was a turning point and played a major role in the outcome of the war.