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No, a non-dleclared war.
They acted with their hands tied.
Had they bomb Saigon and Haiphong and ships bringing everything from the USSR, they would have won.
You either fight a war or don't.
Oversimplification.
What we don't know is whether the USSR or China would have become more directly involved had we been more aggressive.
When the rules of engagement are designed not repeat Korea and to lose a much larger conflict, its the win that you've designed not the win that some would imagine.
I"m not sure what we lost in Korea besides an opportunity to avoid the atrocious enslavement that has characterized the DPRK. At the time we had a nuclear monopoly and the mere threat to use nuclear weapons might well have kept China out of the war. Remember Mao's 1949 Revolution was quite new and tender at that point and the countryside in China was not yet neutralized.
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Originally Posted by phetaroi
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Originally Posted by Krokodill
No, a non-dleclared war.
They acted with their hands tied.
Had they bomb Saigon and Haiphong and ships bringing everything from the USSR, they would have won.
You either fight a war or don't.
Oversimplification.
What we don't know is whether the USSR or China would have become more directly involved had we been more aggressive.
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Originally Posted by Ralph_Kirk
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi
Oversimplification.
What we don't know is whether the USSR or China would have become more directly involved had we been more aggressive.
Which was a continuous worry.
The choices were to stay out or go "all in." One doesn't put American soldiers in harm's way and then go through mental exercises about what would or would not happen in a global chess game.
I"m not sure what we lost in Korea besides an opportunity to avoid the atrocious enslavement that has characterized the DPRK. At the time we had a nuclear monopoly and the mere threat to use nuclear weapons might well have kept China out of the war. Remember Mao's 1949 Revolution was quite new and tender at that point and the countryside in China was not yet neutralized.
Except that the Chinese had a belief that they could have absorbed it and resurged.
And they may have been right. At that point in time, we wouldn't have even been able to find them in China--the art of reconnaissance was barely born--and the USSR was a real nuclear threat, because they could find us..
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The choices were to stay out or go "all in." One doesn't put American soldiers in harm's way and then go through mental exercises about what would or would not happen in a global chess game.
Yet, that's exactly what politicians have done since WWII.
Americans don't like to admit that ANYTHING they've done is a failure.
Haven't you noticed?
Hogwash.
Some of the most vociferous America-haters & bashers are Americans.
Vietnam was not a military defeat, but rather it was a political failure. Eisenhower should've embraced Ho Chi Mihn's communist government & supported him against Red China. But the French would've been outraged. Charlie played it smart though and manipulated the political side masterfully.
The removal of Saddam was a good thing, & that effort was successful. But Bush/Cheney failed miserably initially to stabilize the country with a competent plan - which should've included the middle bureaucracy of the Baath Party & Iraqi military. The 2007 surge got Iraq back on track and the place was relatively stable when he left office in 2009.
Afghanistan was dealt with properly in the beginning - hammer the Taliban from power & keep them from regaining territory. That was a successful course of action, but the notion of "nation-building" there was ridiculous and doomed to failure because of the history of the region.
The US can fight wars, but our diplomacy & political planning suck balls - given the morons we elect to office (from both parties)..
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