Vietnam-China rift grows

[Flashermac]

I would say it's not so much a matter of knowing how to fight, though they are courageous and tenacious. More importantly, Hanoi's rulers are excellent judges of a situation. The US could have rolled over NVN as easily as it did over Iraq, but Hanoi knew the US would not dare do such a thing. The world's condemnation would have been fast and furious. Instead, the US government tried fighting a guerrilla war on Hanoi's own terms. Hanoi knew all it had to do was hang on until the US government decided the cost was too high and withdrew. Hanoi now says the NVA and VC combined lost around one million troops! Nevertheless, it didn't faze them or alter their determination.

 

Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, commander of North Vietnamese forces during the war, was asked in an interview by Newsweek (I think) if Hanoi had ever considered stopping the war, especially during the US bombing campaigns. He replied that yes, they had come close to it - SEVERAL TIMES. But he explained that the anti-war movement in the US always encouraged them to hold on. And eventually they were proved to be right.

 

Hanoi is not going to get into any war with the PRC that it cannot handle. VN may be ruled by an aging communist dicatorship, but they are much too wise to risk destroying everything they fought for so hard. China is also not likely to want to get bogged down in a war on its southern border, since the last time they tried a direct ground assault they got beaten back. Also, a direct attack on VN by the PRC would shake up all of Asia and destroy the trust the PRC has gained in recent decades. I expect this to be a "war" of threats and counter-threats, with maybe a few naval and air clashes, and eventually end in a stalemate.

 

 

 

[chuckwoww]

There's no anti-war movement in the US now but the Taliban keep going. Same in Libya. Everybody says Ghadaffi is evil and unpopular but he hangs on. Seems to me it's come down to a question of Western military prestige.

[Flashermac]

The major difference is that military conscription ended decades ago. Nobody protests when they don't have to worry about being forced to fight themselves.

 

Also, what is the US supposed to do when the man in the White House had pledged in his campaign to "bring the troops home"? Couldn't the Swedes at least have the decency to revoke his "No Bull Peace Prize"? It has gone beyond being a joke now.

 

Ghaddaffi is fighting for survival. He cannot quit. And Taliban is religious fanaticism. You can't reason with a fanatic.

 

[chuckwoww]

I don't know what Obama believes. It doesn't matter. Defence trumps everything. The military industrial complex always gets the last word.

 

Ghadaffi is becoming a symbol of resistance for Arabs I think. He's making NATO look silly. And sooner or later the US will have to cut a deal with the Taliban. Just a question of how they make it look like a win.

 

The China/Vietnam thing is about oil rights in the China Sea. I doubt it will get serious.

[Flashermac]

 

Both Vietnam and the PRC have submarines. Could be interesting.

 

 

[Redbaron]

Hanoi knew all it had to do was hang on until the US government decided the cost was too high and withdrew.

 

Exactly what the Afghans are thinking... these guys have been at war for thousands of years, another decade or so is nothing, especially when the US leader has already stated he wants to bring his armies home.. Easy.

[Flashermac]

How many Afghan wars did the British Empire fight? Three wasn't it? The Russians have tried it ... now the US.

 

 

 

 

[gobbledonk]

How many Afghan wars did the British Empire fight? Three wasn't it? The Russians have tried it ... now the US.

 

 

 

 

Tip of the iceberg - countless invaders have left their dead on the ground in Afghanistan. Hideous terrain, a merciless climate and seemingly a long way from anywhere 'civilised'. This cheery sonnet from Kipling has been rolled out a few times, but its timeless:

 

When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,

And the women come out to cut up what remains,

Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains

An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.

Go, go, go like a soldier,

Go, go, go like a soldier,

Go, go, go like a soldier,

So-oldier of the Queen!