A show of American force in 1954 might have really slowed the march of especially the Chinese and Russian influence in Asia.
What Chinese and Russian influence in Asia? Far from the main tenet of the Domino Theory, the communist movements in East Asia are/were pretty independent and national in nature. They got nominal material support, but they definitely had their own characteristics. Today, even after we killed millions of their citizens, Vietnam would rather deal with us than China.
Agreed. One of our biggest mistakes was assuming that all Communists were the same and in league with one another. The Chinese and Russians hated each other; they only allied because of us. The Norks have always been batschit. The Vietnamese wanted nothing to do with the Chinese as they were and are age old enemies. NO ONE trusted the Khymer Rouge (for good reason). We could have - and should have - played divide and conquer instead of lumping them all together and trying to hash it out militarily.
Originally Posted by Mannlicher
America needs to understand that our troops are not 'disposable'. Each represents a family; Fathers, Mothers, Sons, Daughters, Cousins, Uncles, Aunts... Our Citizens are our most valuable treasure; we waste far too many.
