Here's What China and the USSR Supplied to North Vietnam

[Jacobin]

Sources of Weapons
Although most of their weapons, uniforms, and equipment were provided by the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, the North Vietnamese also carried arms captured from the French and even the Japanese in the earlier Indochinese wars. North Vietnamese Army (N.V.A.) troops more often used standard-issue gear; their Viet Cong counterparts dressed as the peasants in whose villages they sought harbor, and frequently used improvised weapons.

MiG-21
MiG-21 sitting on runway The Soviet MiG-21 served as the primary high-altitude fighter in the North Vietnamese arsenal. Capable of flying more than twice the speed of sound and armed with a 30mm cannon and air-to-air missiles, the MiG-21 disrupted American bombing raids, shooting down bombers and engaging in furious and often victorious dogfights with American fighter planes. The highly-maneuverable MiG was also easy to maintain and could operate from unimproved airfields. The MiG-17, an earlier model in the MiG fighter series, also saw frequent service as a fighter/interceptor in North Vietnam



Fricking JET FIGHTERS, okay?

So, is the fact that the republicans didn't threaten to blow up China and the USSR for supplying war materiel that killed American soldiers an indication that this is not a valid causus belli, or is it because the U.S. only picks fights with smaller weaker countries that it thinks it can beat? (thinks, being the operative word)

[Nickster]

1. We still hadn't fulled processed what had happened in Korea, so we didn't see that

we had actually accomplished something there and didn't use the lessons learned in Korea in Vietnam. We were basically afraid of drawing China and the USSR into the fight with their nuclear weapons.

[Jacobin]

2. In other words

We were basically afraid of drawing China and the USSR into the fight with their nuclear weapons.

We only pick on weaker countries we think we can easily beat.

[Nickster]

7. Almost. We pick on weaker countries that don't have nuclear weapons or nuclear weapon carrying

friends. This is one of the reasons that so many countries are racing to build nuclear weapon potential. They saw what happened to Iraq and they see what happens to a country like North Korea. They aren't fools and they see the difference between how we treat nations that can defend themselves with nuclear weapons and those that can't.

[Ganja Ninja]

3. We also don't pick fights with Bush family business associates

like the Saudi's.

[Jacobin]

5. Yeah. Lots of strange silence on that one

[lectrobyte]

6. I saw some articles the other day about Saudi funding and support for the Sunni's

being a bigger factor in Iraq than the Iranian support of the Shias. Wish I'd saved the link.

[Edweird]

4. Are they gonna do that for their boy Iran?

[Javaman]

8. An old friend of mine that was in country in the very early days of the war

was telling me how some of the Viet Cong were using bolt action and flint lock guns.

Goes to show that we never had the "hearts and minds" of the people if they were using grandpas hand me down rifles to fight us.

Just my two cents.

[JVS]

9. they had nukes