Back when it became obvious that the Communists would win the forthcoming
reunification election in Vietnam, JFK's Whiz Kids asked senior military
leaders to prepare options for a military solution in 'nam should we decide
to cancel the election. The options presented were 1) Nuke the USSR (We had
a first strike capability in those days), 2) A naval blockade coupled with
bombing the roads and rail lines in China. Note that the men who'd fought
WW2 and Korea never even considered an invasion. Asked why, they explained
that we'd beat the Axis and the Chinese in Korea by destroying their
factories and/or transportation infrastructure thus keeping supplies from
reaching their troops, and Ho's factories were in the USSR and his supply
lines were in China. They were appalled by McNamara's suggestion of a grunt
on grunt war because "they make new soldiers faster than we can make
bullets". But JFK's Whizzers were smarter than generals cuz they were Ivy
League! So they scraped the barrel for somebody who'd agree and went ahead
and blew $billions and 1000 of American lives - and failed because, guess
what, the Vietnamese made soldiers faster than we made bullets. As
predicted, we won every battle but lost the war. Meanwhile, the USSR
consolidated it's hold on Cuba and moved into South America!

We are currently buying war surplus ammo from Israel and the UK, the dudes
who perped 9-11 still elude us, and militant Islam grows stronger worldwide.

Anybody see a similarity between JFK's folly and GWB's misadventure?

Vito wrote:
Back when it became obvious that the Communists would win the forthcoming
reunification election in Vietnam

Excuse me Vito, are you really into gardening? Is that why you continue
to spout this horse **** even after I've showed a dozen or more
references showing that it is just plain NOT even close to true?


We are currently buying war surplus ammo from Israel and the UK

More total malarkey. The U.S. arms industry supplies about 70% of the
ammunition used in the world.

Vito, you should stop snorting Drano or else stick to talking sailing.
Anytime you try to talk about history or economics, you seem to lapse
into Ebonics.

DSK

"DSK" wrote in message
...
Vito wrote:
Back when it became obvious that the Communists would win the
forthcoming
reunification election in Vietnam

Excuse me Vito, are you really into gardening? Is that why you continue
to spout this horse **** even after I've showed a dozen or more
references showing that it is just plain NOT even close to true?

Yada Yada yada - I suppose no reunification elections were ever scheduled,
that the partitioning was to be permanent, or that the Diem regime was going
to beat Ho by a landslide.



We are currently buying war surplus ammo from Israel and the UK

More total malarkey. The U.S. arms industry supplies about 70% of the
ammunition used in the world.

Never the less we are buying (back?) small arms ammo from Israel and the UK.

Vito wrote:
Yada Yada yada - I suppose no reunification elections were ever scheduled,

Nope.

that the partitioning was to be permanent,

Nope
... or that the Diem regime was going
to beat Ho by a landslide.

Yep.

For one thing, about 4 million refugees fled North Viet Nam in the mid
1950s, came to the Sotuh, and having seen the Viet Minh gov't in action,
would never have voted for it. In fact, one of the big disputes that
they argued over was that the North insisted that refugees could not be
allowed to vote. Needless to say, there were very few if any refugees
fleeing the South to the North.

Real history does not lend itself to neat ideological explanations (for
the most part) but spinning out fantasy and calling it history will not
explain a damn thing.


.... The U.S. arms industry supplies about 70% of the
ammunition used in the world.


Never the less we are buying (back?) small arms ammo from Israel and the UK.

That may be true. I've heard of crazier things being done with our tax
money.

DSK