Got it. You missed 1975 apparently. There was this thing that happened, and we don’t get to direct who flies in and out of the airports there any more.
I cant believe you think bombing that airport is even slightly sane.
No, I didn’t miss 1975.
Unfortunately, I didn’t miss 1965 through 1974 either.
That’s why I feel the way I do.
As for things that happen, and that a country doesn’t get to do something anymore feel free to tell your thoughts to Vladimir Putin in the eastern Ukraine.
When a small country is asked nicely to do something by a much more powerful country for a very good reason, the small country can do one of two things.
It can comply because of mutual advantages or it can tell the big country to get lost.
Either response is well within the rights of the small country to say.
But each has consequences, some of them unintended.
Because the Communists in Viet Nam gladly take our money but just told us to F off, I have to assume they don’t care about the consequences. After all, we leave a lot of money on the table.
So, in the real world, a message has to be sent to the small country, so that it is clear whether their response has been received in a positive or a negative manner.
Also, a strong response sends a message to other countries to listen closely the first time. The world is not a bunch of well mannered altruistic groups of people.
My response is exactly what the world has done for 5,000 years.
It is crude, but effective.
An airport can be rebuilt. But the message sent is now understood, and bad behavior toward the big country won’t happen again.
The US would not have even asked Viet Nam for its assistance had not the Russian flyovers at Guam become a nuisance, just like they are in England and Europe. The Russians routinely endanger other countries’ military personnel by their antics.
When the US gets pushed around, and we do nothing, expect more of the same.