Second Vietnam War in the 1980

in 1978 Vietnam invaded Khmer Rouge Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge fled into Thailand, from that point on the US supported two anti-Vietnamese Cambodian groups (the KPNLF and ANS) while China supported the Khmer Rouge, both the US and PRC blocked any pro-Vietnamese government over the 10 years that Vietnam occupation from getting into the UN, over the ten year occupation the Vietnamese, Thai, and anti-Vietnamese Cambodians raided over the Thai border, is there any way to turn this low level war into a full Thailand Vs Vietnam war with the US getting into it knee deep?
 
It would take something drastic like Vietnam pushing within reach of Bangkok and being seen as having the capability of overrunning southeast Asia completely.

This of course requires Vietnam to do such a thing in the first place...
 
Perhaps if Moscow gave the Vietnamese more substantial backing, the Chinese may of had a more vested interest in continuing hostilities in their invasion in 1979 and in supporting anti-Vietnamese groups in other theaters of the region, which would of escalated hostilities noticeably. When you factor in Reagan's presence in the white house, I guess it is possible that he might of seen enough of a potential casus belli to justify a greater degree of American involvement.

So basically, if Kosygin and Brezhnev decided to actually take a principled stance here and support their ally, the US may yet of been caught up in another taxing war of attrition and public opinion in Southeast Asia.
 

Deleted member 9338

I joined the navy at this time and can honestly say that the US Military was in no position to get into a second Vietnam War.

If the POD is back to the 1976 election and it is Reagan instead of Ford, with Reagan winning in the general election there are posbilities.
 
There was a second war. Vietnam and China fought a war from 79-89. But why should the US intervene? The reason US got involved earlier was to stop Communist expansion in SE Asia. With China and Vietnam going at it, American strategic goals were being accomplished without the need to fire a shot. This really should have been American policy in the 60s, don't get involved in Vietnam, and allow Vietnam and China to become enemies instead of allies.

With this in mind, I can only see the US make the same mistake a second time if two things happen. First China doesn't go to war with Vietnam, leaving it unchecked. Second Vietnam becomes much more expansionist than just invading Cambodia. Let's say Vietnam invades Thailand, backed by a sizable Thai Communist movement. An aggressive Soviet naval build up in Vietnam could also play a role. Although it's hard to see why China would stay out of this if these were to happen.
 
There was a second war. Vietnam and China fought a war from 79-89. But why should the US intervene? The reason US got involved earlier was to stop Communist expansion in SE Asia. With China and Vietnam going at it, American strategic goals were being accomplished without the need to fire a shot. This really should have been American policy in the 60s, don't get involved in Vietnam, and allow Vietnam and China to become enemies instead of allies.
the Sino-Vietnamese War only lasted 38, there were post war border skirmishes but they were small to say the war lasted for 10 years would be greatly over doing it
 
My god, what would be the next thing to happen if we did get bogged down in Vietnam a second time so soon afterward? Frankly this is the kind of stupidity that makes me starts to imagine real massive social unrest in the US. And would the military have been controllable? Between the lack of appetite from civilians and how significant the last Vietnam war would still be to active personnel this would be really ugly domestically.
 
If the US goes into 'Nam again in '80 there's no way that Reagan gets re-elected in '84. The simple fact that many people were either fighting in Vietnam or protesting against the war just five years ago means you'll likely see a very pro-peace candidate win in '84.
 
I wasn't thinking the US go into 'nam its self, it'd likely start much the way OTL war did, US special forces in the Thai border region, than a join Thai-American invasion and occupation of Cambodia, the pro-Vietnamese Salvation Front turns into a Guerrilla army which with Vietnamese help fights the CGDK forces and the Thai/American occupiers
 
maybe you could push it a little further, and get to the point where the US and China are actually cooperating against Vietnam. Something like that could have far reaching consequences especially in the US-Sino relation.
Of course it could make world politics rather tricky, the USSR could start to feel surrounded and do stupid things.
 
maybe you could push it a little further, and get to the point where the US and China are actually cooperating against Vietnam. Something like that could have far reaching consequences especially in the US-Sino relation.
Of course it could make world politics rather tricky, the USSR could start to feel surrounded and do stupid things.

Agree. While this is probably more likely than just getting dragged back in it also sounds less like a recipe for Vietnam II or Iraq in the jungle than for WWIII set off in Southeast Asia.
 
no Gorbachev, at least no glasnost


US working with Khmer Rouge... I'm sure it can get uglier, but it'd be damn hard. (In our tl, yes, the US did side with the Khmer Rouge against the Vietnamese, which is to say the least a revolting development. I mean, really, no one could take a time-out and say, "This is disgusting!")



what kind of impact could this have on Afghanistan, would it be an extra chunk of motivation for US efforts at sabotage, or?


as for domestic response in the United States, my bet is on Vietnam veterans setting themselves on fire on the mall.



we'll get to see what a Trabant would look like in 2010 and beyond, because the Cold War would still be on.
 
what kind of impact could this have on Afghanistan, would it be an extra chunk of motivation for US efforts at sabotage, or?

my guess is no, any full time real war would eat up all the back room money that Charlie Wilson was able to use to fund OTL's Afghanistan insurgency with.
 
my guess is no, any full time real war would eat up all the back room money that Charlie Wilson was able to use to fund OTL's Afghanistan insurgency with.


the good news is, Bin Laden is run over by a Soviet tank.

the bad news is that the thousands of Americans saved from 9/11 will be cruelly balanced by the thousands of Americans killed in this fresh horrific mess.
 
the good news is, Bin Laden is run over by a Soviet tank.

the bad news is that the thousands of Americans saved from 9/11 will be cruelly balanced by the thousands of Americans killed in this fresh horrific mess.

speaking of terrorism, the war in Vietnam in OTL set off a small number of left wing terrorist groups, they get greatly over played in the media (than and now) but a second war 5-10 years after the first, this time fighting to support not just some corrupt dictatorship but to put Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge and also with support for China (which has only just began reform and de-Maoing) might we see a greater rebirth of Left wing terrorism as a growing number of people in the US come to see the USSR/Vietnam as the "good guy" in the cold war?
 
speaking of terrorism, the war in Vietnam in OTL set off a small number of left wing terrorist groups, they get greatly over played in the media (than and now) but a second war 5-10 years after the first, this time fighting to support not just some corrupt dictatorship but to put Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge and also with support for China (which has only just began reform and de-Maoing) might we see a greater rebirth of Left wing terrorism as a growing number of people in the US come to see the USSR/Vietnam as the "good guy" in the cold war?

given enough of that, plus angrier and more confrontational protests, Kent State might only be a precursor

some parents will insist on correspondence schools
 
given enough of that, plus angrier and more confrontational protests, Kent State might only be a precursor

some parents will insist on correspondence schools

more likely Schools with strict conduct codes, like Brigham Young University will get more popular.... hmmmm maybe killing off the "college is for partying!" thing we have today, also though we could see a number of schools become long term hot beds of leftism in the US.
 
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