Hiya Dowding!
Elaborate, Hangtime. I've heard this many times. I've heard that the stockpiles of SAMs in Hochi Minh City were off-limits until they were placed in their launchers, but what other changes would have been made? Perhaps a more ruthless treatment of the local population? Genuinely interested.
Fair question. It's a matter of objectives. Approach the objectives from a purely military standpoint and the soultion is crystal clear.
1. Destroy the enemys ability to make war. Destruction of Haiphong's and HongGai's port facilities, the total blockade of the Harbors, the destruction of the rail lines from china, aggresive continous reduction of the countrys ability to aid and succor the Viet Cong.
Why didn't we? Politics. The target list was controlled exclusively by the White House.
2. Destroy the infrastructure of command and control. Utter destruction of all road junctions, bridges, damns, factories and government facilities of all types.
Why didn't we? same answer.
3. Use of neighboring countrys as 'refuges'... from a military standpoint Laos and Cambodia were safe havens for the NVA and the Vietcong. The Military correctly demanded that these nations deny the enemy use of their territory, their inability to do so should have resulted in the US's armed pursuit with impunity into those havens.
Why didn't we? same answer.
4. Invasion. Having reduced the enemys effectiveness and failing a settlement, we should have invaded.. when your standing in Hanoi with your boot on Uncle Ho's neck it's kinda hard to concieve that the war could continue.
Thanks to the most screwed up set of Foreign Policy decisons recorded in the annals of statecraft we instead wound up with our militarys hands tied by an asinine ROE. The Vietnam War was conducted by politicans with the same effect and result as pissing on a forrest fire. And we got our dicks burned. The politicans didn't even get singed.
Dowding... I'm certain the world remembers the US pulled out of Vietnam, whats unfortunate is that the world thinks our Military lost. Our Army was not there when South Vietnam fell.
Consider.. From the Ia Drang Valley to Khe Sanh to Tet and Hue to An Loc.. we won every single engagement with the NVA. Every single one. The Military did not lose in Vietnam. Our politicans did.
Sadly, now even the population of this country believes the Military let our nation down. The onus of the fall of Vietnam rests squarely on US foriegn Policy. Not on US military Forces.
