Because the goal is to destroy and cripple Iran. You do that by destroying Iran's ability to function as a modern society for a while. One major bridge out of commission in a major city causes regional chaos to daily life.
Schrodinger's Ayatollah. The Ayatollah is simultaneously alive and dead until he is observed.
Well, thankfully, Trump doesn't give a fuck about TikTok-brained retards with zero attention spans. He saw his chance to crush Iran, and he took it. If American policy has to be tailored to low IQ people with no vision or patience for long term strategic gains, then the country has bigger problems than Iran skirmishes.
Sure, the Domino Theory, the theoretical idea about stopping global communism. But my point is that gaining control of oil offers something more tangible for people who want to complain about the cost of this Iran fight. It's not as if what the US stands to gain here is just theoretical. We get to hurt our enemies while at the same time strengthening our economic and political leverage. Justifying the cost of asking people to die by the thousands in Vietnam, because maybe it might stop the spread of communism is much tougher.
Not surprising, really. It helped when their supposed allies (CCP) decided to stab them immediately in the back when the USA left.
The domino theory was basically right, without military containment communism spread everywhere it touched. Vietnam fell then Laos and Cambodia too. China fell then so did Korea and later Vietnam. Communism is an ideology that thrives in exporting itself. Letting Cuba fester lead to a lot of left wing governments in South America over the years.
Tougher to ask people to sacrifice both their lives and their tax dollars for not much of a tangible return, though. I'm saying it's easier to try and convince people of fighting a battle that presents so many more obvious benefits. Taking a risk in Iran seems like much less risk and cost for a much greater reward.
The B1 bridge was still under construction and closed to the public before being hit, it doesn't seem like it was actively being used by regime forces either.
To be fair the Chinese aid started to taper off early into the 70s, and the final North Vietnamese offensive against the South was done mostly with Russian arms and Russian intelligence support.
I love how we went from fingernail-biting anticipation waiting for news of the WSO's fate to fingernail-biting anticipation waiting to see which Iranian bigwhig got whacked in less than 24hrs.
was it for releasing the footage itself or releasing with a giant SOFREP watermark on it. because i remember it being the latter.
Are you saying that public opinion back home doesn't matter?, the numbers aren't looking good for him, you know.
I'm saying its a matter of calculated risks. You have to weigh potential gains against potential losses. If the potential gains are great enough, it's worth taking the risk.
It's not like this was a completely ridiculous concern in hindsight; Laos and Cambodia also became communist as a direct result and Thailand fought and ultimately won against a protracted communist insurgency during that time too (North Korea even tried to launch their own Viet Cong-style insurgency in South Korea but geography and Syngman Rhee's policy of Total Communist Death a decade earlier made this a complete failure). Vietnam is also not a close ally in Asia; not the way Japan, the Philippines and even South Korea are, at least. The Vietnamese people themselves have a pretty positive view of America but the Vietnamese government itself leans towards the CCP and wouldn't dream of directly aligning with America versus China unless some absolute black swan event occurs like the Chinese deciding to outright invade Vietnam again (which they are highly unlikely to do - they'd rather keep fucking around with maritime claims).
What better way to humiliate your opponents than to demolish their grandiosity projects?
Who says this? the media? You either don't vote at all or you back your team. If any Republican is swayed to side with Newsom, or AOC from their shower thoughts, they deserve the rope. People who sit on the fence or can't decide are ignorant idiots.