July 1967: North Vietnamese terrorist fly hijacked US Airliner into Capital building

July 1967: North Vietnamese terrorist travel to America disguised as South Vietnamese Diplomates. Their mission to kill US President Lyndon Baines Johnson. They hijack a TWA Airliner and crashes it into the Capital building. Killing LBJ his Cabinet and most members of both houses.

How would that change the Vietnam War?

/Fred​
 
Jebus H. Fucking Cricket on a goddamn Tricycle! Put that one on the other side of ASB, will you?!

Seriously, there were pretty clear rules on what you could do in the Cold War. After the Kennedy assassination, people in Washington were sure the world would end in the next ten minutes. You're going to risk that in the era of intercontinental nuclear overkill?
 
did they have a nuke on board when they crashed? cause that plane took out way to many people in one hit
 
July 1967: North Vietnamese terrorist travel to America disguised as South Vietnamese Diplomates. Their mission to kill US President Lyndon Baines Johnson. They hijack a TWA Airliner and crashes it into the Capital building. Killing LBJ his Cabinet and most members of both houses.​


How would that change the Vietnam War?​


/Fred​

A hijacked 737 only managed to destroy one 'wedge' segment in the Pentagon in 9/11 (trust me, my dad was in the renovation program), so I don't see how a 60s era plane would manage to destroy the entire Capitol Building. 'Sides, I seriously doubt that the super-paranoid America-of-the-Cold-War would allow such a thing to happen.
 
What better way to ensure long-lasting US wrath and enmity, let alone a larger American commitment to the war, by launching a direct assault on the US government in one of the most terroristic ways possible!

The Hanoi regime wasn't dumb.
 
What better way to ensure long-lasting US wrath and enmity, let alone a larger American commitment to the war, by launching a direct assault on the US government in one of the most terroristic ways possible!

The Hanoi regime wasn't dumb.

Remember extremist terrorists doesn't act logical! Even the marxist ones!
 
Remember extremist terrorists doesn't act logical! Even the marxist ones!

So what? Hanoi has nothing to gain by doing this, and everything to lose. They were doing just fine bleeding America dry in the rice paddies and jungles of the Republic of Viet Nam using the National Liberation Front. Hanoi could calculate for themselves the (lack of) value of your little operation, and find it wanting.

Remember, their goal was to get America out of intervening in their affairs with Saigon; they're not going to jeopardize that by a stupid, stupid strike on American symbols of power and values which could only bring wrath back down on their necks. And it would completely wreck their image as a country to neutral powers.
 
A hijacked 737 only managed to destroy one 'wedge' segment in the Pentagon in 9/11 (trust me, my dad was in the renovation program), so I don't see how a 60s era plane would manage to destroy the entire Capitol Building. 'Sides, I seriously doubt that the super-paranoid America-of-the-Cold-War would allow such a thing to happen.
This plane might cause a wee bit of damage.:)

It is a 707 the major people hauler of the era.

Also TWA used them as I flew in one to Germany in November of 67.
 
What better way to ensure long-lasting US wrath and enmity, let alone a larger American commitment to the war, by launching a direct assault on the US government in one of the most terroristic ways possible!

The Hanoi regime wasn't dumb.

Yeah, that would be the quickest way of losing the war. The US would go ape and it would go from "Why are we there?" to "We got to wipe out those bastards" in one hell of a hurry. If it doesn't start WWIII the USSR and China would back away from the regime cutting off all aid. They would know damn well they would suspected to be behind it and do anything it could to disavow it.
 

CalBear

Moderator
Donor
Monthly Donor
A 707 could have destroyed the Capital; it is not a heavily reinforced structure. Getting everyone would be a good deal trickier,

The result?

Version 1 - The USSR delivers everyone in the North Vietnamese government & anyone involved in planning the attack to the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, butterflied and on spits, with a note promising no further support to the Hanoi cause if the U.S. will just PLEASE rachet down from DEFCON 2. Included is a 16mm film of the interrogations of those involved.

A second note swears on Lenin's corpse that Moscow had NOTHING to do with the attack and promises to do everything possible to ensure that relations return to normal.

Version 2- The new POTUS gets on the red phone, tells Moscow that it had best sit by and watch quietly what is about to happen to North Vietnam unless it's a VERY good day to die in the USSR. North Vietnam is then graced with several wide expanse of fused green glass; to the general approval of the governments of the Planet.

Version 3 - The new POTUS, as Looking Glass tears off the runway at Andrews, takes the advice of the Watch Commander in Cheyenne Mountain, believing that no country except the USSR would DARE to make such an attack & gives Ivan 4 hours to turn over the plotters, etc. In response the Soviets put their forces on higher alert, the U.S. goes a step higher, the Soviets match while denying that they had anything to do with the attack. The U.S. goes to DEFCON 2, SAC surges the bomber force, NATO goes to full war alert, American carriers in the Med head toward Cyprus and strike range of Soviet bases on the Black Sea & SSBNs go to launch depth.

At this point either Version 1 happens, Version 2 is decided on as a middle course, or some forward deployed unit (which side really doesn't matter) makes a mistake and WW III happens.

The thing is, there WAS no such thing as terrorism, not as we know it, in 1967; the reaction to any attack would be, quite intentionally, far out of proportion to what had occerred. Moveover, this would be an act by agents of a NATION/STATE that was at war with the United States. No matter what, LOTS of people wind up very dead.
 

Nietzsche

Banned
I found the proper response to this:

The American people hear of the tragedy, and across the country, people rejoice as the rest of congress dies in a fire.
 
July 1967: North Vietnamese terrorist travel to America disguised as South Vietnamese Diplomates. Their mission to kill US President Lyndon Baines Johnson. They hijack a TWA Airliner and crashes it into the Capital building. Killing LBJ his Cabinet and most members of both houses.

How would that change the Vietnam War?

/Fred​

I think the general consensus is:

ASB!
 
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