“A political defeat bought on by a defeatist elements here in America. Johnson’s insistence on micromanaging every aspect of the war, always afraid as he put it of ‘’ a bomb going down the smokestack of a Russian freighter’’ in my opinion needlessly drew out the war.I’ve often wondered why one Democratic administration was able to prevail in one Asian war, Korea and not another. When Nixon resumed the bombing it bought the North Vietnamese back to the table. And yes, the North Vietnamese took over the country.”
Yes, we have a similar set of excuses why we lost the revolutionary war with our American colonies but it doesn’t change the result. ;)
“The Brits and the French found this out in 1940”
We Brits also single-handedly defeated the luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain in 1940, destroying any posibility of operation sea lion being launched.
“What I do doubt is their ability to do what they did thirty years ago.”
The whole point is, we wouldn’t have to do what we had to do thirty years ago. In 1982 we had 50 soldiers on the islands and nothing else. Now we have a large garrison, the FIDF, permanent and extensive anti-aircraft defences, Typhoons based on the Island, a brand new Type-45 Detroyer (the most adavnced in the world) permanently on guard, an Astute class hunter-killer sub (the most advanced in the world) permanently on guard with Tomahawks and a Vanguard class Trident sub on permanent guard. Now go and look at what Argentina has got - significantly less than they had in 1982. In light of all this your conclusion is bizarre, especially when you factor in that now there are hundreds of millions of barrels of oil there and a successful clash with the Argentinians would ensure the re-election of Cameron in 2015.
“Our’’ result? You’re English and a Vietnam vet?”
No, read it again. I said I prefered our result in the Falklands to your result in Vietnam.
I meant the Brits being tossed off the Continent and into the Channel and the french with their Maginot Line.(’’Maginot thinking’’). I’d beg to differ on ‘’defeating the Luftwaffe’’. The RAF did a splendid job in 1940 but that certainly was not the end of the Luftwaffe.