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.
To give you an idea on just how WRONG this war was fought, We have historical data (circa 1960s-70s) of Soviet merchant vessels loading up with sugar (and I'm sure cigars) in Cuba (Cuban commies). Proceeding through the Panama Canal on its way to North Korea (chinese communists), unloading its cargo, then loading up with Soviet hardware such as SAMs and AAA (Soviet/Chinese commies) proceeding through the S China Sea and under the noses of the 7th Fleet and unloading it's cargo in Haiphong (Vietnamese communists). Nominal material support? NONSENSE.
No Sean, while all communists might not be exactly the same, they were most definitively united in world domination. What we should have done (well, it depends how far you want to go, but let's stick Vietnam), is establish a complete Naval Blockade of N. Vietnam, destroyed all the main infrastructure leading in from China and with a two pronged strategy, INVADE the North from the land through and a landing in/near Haiphong. We had them on the run after Tet in 68.
A good principle to guide me through life: “This is all I have come to expect, standard lackluster performance. Trust nothing, believe no one and realize it will only get worse…”
