"BUFDRVR" wrote in message
...
Kevin Brooks wrote:

I am not sure your 20/20 hindsight is all that accurate in this case in
terms of the observation that the spread was "never going to be greater
than
Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam".

I base this on the fact that, at least in SE Asia, it appears these
different
communist elements not only were not capable of cooperating, but in fact
conducted operations against one and other. Vietnam invaded Cambodia in
'79, in
response China invade Vietnam. Although the Chinese military action was
short
lived (1 month?), Vietnam and China continued to have border skirmishes as
late
as the late 80s. China's relatonship with Cambodia has been hot & cold as
well.
Really, the only two communist nations in the region to get along were
Vietnam
and Laos. Seems to me you need strong alliances to spread any ideology and
I'm
not sure these SE Asian nations had that ability.

All very true, except for maybe that "strong alliances" part. Recall that
Vietnam was being supported by both the USSR and the PRC, even *after* they
had that not-so-little/minor border skirmish between those two nations on
the Amur (1969, IIRC). I guess my point was that had the US not done
anything in Vietnam, it would have left the door open for more adventurous
action (than what was actually experienced) on the part of the USSR and PRC
supporting communist factions in other nearby nations. Hence my reluctance
to accept that the dominos would have stopped falling after Laos, Cambodia,
and the RVN irrespective of whether or not the US demonstrated its
willingness to offer opposition in the region.

Brooks



BUFDRVR

"Stay on the bomb run boys, I'm gonna get those bomb doors open if it
harelips
everyone on Bear Creek"