re: #254 Big Beautiful Door

Imagine how much less it would’ve cost if we had recognized Vietnamese independence in 1945, or 1954, then sent them aid.

When I was studying international relations (1967–70), the accepted conclusion was that, setting aside the human misery entailed by several million deaths, it would have been far cheaper for the US to buy Vietnam than to detonate all that ordnance. By “buy” we of course meant development aid and assistance, justified to Congress as necessary for building a ballpark against communism.