If there was no Vietnam War, what other proxy war could be a substitute?

This came about as a random thought to help others looking for a Vietnam equivalent in a timeline where it never happens. PoD doesn't matter, just that America and its allies never get into a war with Vietnam in the mid-1960s-70s.

I've already talked with a couple friends, but we could only think of Angola. And justifying that would be hell of a lot harder, and probably see even more backlash, than Vietnam.

Any other proxy wars in Cold War battlegrounds that could see American involvement?

EDIT: Here's the criteria.
  1. Has to have suitable terrain for a prolonged guerrilla conflict.
  2. Allows for large supply of Soviet and Warsaw Pact aid.
  3. Will have US involvement beginning in the 1960s and escalating until full-scale war by the start of the 1970s.
  4. The US always has to withdraw by the mid-1970s, having lost the war at home.
  5. Results in massive anti-war protests in the US.
South and North yemen. Or Congo in the 60es.
 
Thank you for the detailed explanation, and mentioning that crucial aspect I've missed. I'll take it into consideration - Iran is looking a better candidate now.

Now regarding Iran, possibly the PoD would the 1946 crisis ending in a Soviet-occupied Northern Iran with the Azerbaijan People's Republic still existing, which later has Northern Iran becoming an Iranian People's Republic, and the Anglo-American-backed Shah in the south.
Are you planning for a massive Korean war analogue where one Iran tries to conquer the other but the war becomes a bloody stalemate? If the great powers sign a ceasefire to avoid a nuclear escalation, this could limit Communists attempts at reunification to support for guerrillas in the South.

However, I don't know if Iran has the terrain for conventional tank warfare, or what a realistic DMZ would be to create two states large enough to be viable.
 
Are you planning for a massive Korean war analogue where one Iran tries to conquer the other but the war becomes a bloody stalemate? If the great powers sign a ceasefire to avoid a nuclear escalation, this could limit Communists attempts at reunification to support for guerrillas in the South.

However, I don't know if Iran has the terrain for conventional tank warfare, or what a realistic DMZ would be to create two states large enough to be viable.

That's one option. The other one is a complete American withdrawal and the subsequent collapse of the Shah, mimicking OTL Vietnam.
 
That's one option. The other one is a complete American withdrawal and the subsequent collapse of the Shah, mimicking OTL Vietnam.
The dual state building of the Irans would be interesting to watch. One Iran may end up emphasizing Iran's Shia muslim identity, while the other Iran emphasizes the cultural heritage of Iran's pre-Islamic Persian Empires. In the early '70s the Shah held extravagant festivities in Persepolis marking 2,500 years of the Iranian monarchy. He portrayed himself and the Pahlavi dynasty as the latest part of a lineage going back to Cyrus the Great and the Achaemenid Empire.

Islam is as dialectically opposed to historical materialism and state atheism as it's possible to be in theory, but in the early stage of the OTL revolution there was substantial collaboration between Islamists and leftists in the coalition that brought down the Shah. A government in a predominantly Muslim country that tries to stamp out Islam will be as disliked as the Afghan communists were.

The communist period in South Yemen and Siad Barre's rule in Somalia are the closest real-life analogues to see what an eastern bloc regime in Iran would look like. South Yemen was a pariah in the muslim world for a while because it was branded as an "atheist" regime. Barre tried to have his cake and eat it to by practicing essentially marxist economics under a label of scientific socialism, while condemning Marxism's anti-religious elements, and emphasizing parts of the Korean and Islam as opposing exploitation and supporting social justice.

There are some declassified reports floating around online about these two pro-Soviet regimes, but Islam and materialist socialism seem very difficult to combine. The conclusion of Marxism in Islamic South Yemen states that:

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The end result for Northern Iran will sound like a curious mix of the OTL revolution and the above, honestly.

By the way, regardless of which scenario I ultimately choose, Northern Iran will happily utilize Iranian infantry tactics during the OTL Iran-Iraq war, so expect the US having to deal with many firebases getting overrun by sheer determination.

Honestly, I'd suspect a communist or leftist-governed Iran would end up motivating its forces to have fanatical will via both political indoctrination and Islam.
 
During the planning for Indian independence the ruler of the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh wanted it to become an independent state but a Pakistani backed insurgency forced Hari Singh to accept partition between India and Pakistan. The area has already had 3 declared wars and a long running Pakistan backed insurgency in the Indian controlled portion. The USA could get in a similar situation trying to keep the Anti Communist Singh dynasty on the Throne and prevent China which already has a portion of J&K from dominating the sub Continent.

We could have Apocalypse Now where Capt Willard journeys up the River Jehlum to meet Col Kurtz in Leh
 
I can't see why the US would do that, considering the ever-lessening strategic importance of Ethiopia at the time - I might see it happening if the new Ethiopian government's radicals do something horrid enough with the US Embassy to trigger an American invasion.
Mass starvation was pretty horrible.
 
If the Soviets invaded Hokkaido at the end of WW2 and Japan was split into two, a war between against North Japan would get really, really messy.
 
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