WI: Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Vietnam

This was offered against the French, no? This could be enough to butterfly away the Eisenhower Administration's slow entry into Vietnam in the first place.
That would have been interesting, you would have former OSS and US Army volunteers working alongside ex-IJA mercenaries, but nope, the wiki article says it was against the Americans.
 
One possiblity would be have some of these "volunteers" in POW camps as interpeters. Now, if the Son Tay raid had succeeded totally, not only would 55 POWs have been rescued and returned home to family and friends, but maybe one of these "volunteers" gets caught by Bull Simons' raiding party.....hello, Federal District Court and a trial for Treason.
 
One possiblity would be have some of these "volunteers" in POW camps as interpeters. Now, if the Son Tay raid had succeeded totally, not only would 55 POWs have been rescued and returned home to family and friends, but maybe one of these "volunteers" gets caught by Bull Simons' raiding party.....hello, Federal District Court and a trial for Treason.

Now that would have been a political circus. Just imagine some SDS defense team quoting Thomas Jefferson on the responsibility to fight against tyranny...has anyone here ever seen Steal This Movie?
 
One possiblity would be have some of these "volunteers" in POW camps as interpeters. Now, if the Son Tay raid had succeeded totally, not only would 55 POWs have been rescued and returned home to family and friends, but maybe one of these "volunteers" gets caught by Bull Simons' raiding party.....hello, Federal District Court and a trial for Treason.

If they took part in the torture of US POWs would they have surrendered or let themselves be captured? I could see many of them, depending on how fanatical they are fighting to the death rather than surrendering to US special forces.
 
If they took part in the torture of US POWs would they have surrendered or let themselves be captured? I could see many of them, depending on how fanatical they are fighting to the death rather than surrendering to US special forces.

I can't see the original Spanish veterans agreeing to serve as torturers, or even many SDS recruits (the Weathermen usually tried to avoid killing anyone). If people like the ones who formed the Red Brigades or RAF in Europe joined up, though, it might be a different story - but they couldn't be tried for treason.

Actually, what would be the legal status of, say, an Italian who went to Vietnam as a volunteer and was captured? Today, jihadis who do this kind of thing (Syrians in Iraq, etc) are considered illegal combatants by the US military - criminals. Did this always apply?
 
I can't see the original Spanish veterans agreeing to serve as torturers, or even many SDS recruits (the Weathermen usually tried to avoid killing anyone). If people like the ones who formed the Red Brigades or RAF in Europe joined up, though, it might be a different story - but they couldn't be tried for treason.

Actually, what would be the legal status of, say, an Italian who went to Vietnam as a volunteer and was captured? Today, jihadis who do this kind of thing (Syrians in Iraq, etc) are considered illegal combatants by the US military - criminals. Did this always apply?

I'm not sure if they'd use the same term but treatment might be similar from an international law standpoint. I know the earlier Geneva conventions had specifics elements against partisans and foreign fighters not formally in the host countries military like immigrants in the US military of the French Foreign Legion.
 
Top