Do you think American soldiers are put on too high of a pedestal

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I'm glad we've learned from the mistakes made hundreds to thousands of years ago.

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Exactly.

Try to imagine the potential problems which might have resulted from one of our planes attacking a 'neutral' ship.  

Georges Clemenceau:  "War is too serious a matter to entrust to military men. "

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USS Vincennes Iran Air Flight 655

They tried to kill the Captain's wife.

[Minimalist]

According to the United States government, the crew incorrectly identified the Iranian Airbus A300 as an attacking F-14A Tomcat fighter

Doesn't speak too well of crew training.

[abaris]

Doesn't speak too well of crew training.

And quite certainly there has been the same media- and political outrage as with the Soviets downing the Korean jet 5 years earlier ....

[Thumpalumpacus]

Of course. But imagine striking those dockyard facilities while no ships were in port. Those missiles ain't gonna walk to the battery's deployment.

It should also be noted that supplying arms to a belligerent is, under international law, itself an act of war.

So we needed another war with China, Russia or one of their allied states? 

I wasn't advocating that, which is exactly why the second sentence of my post reads as it does. We had a pretty good idea of when Russian or Chinese ships were coming in.

Besides, we mined Haiphong harbor which was dangerous enough and we bombed the shit out of Haiphong and Hanoi.

Yes, and between 1968 and 1972, nothing north of the 18th parallel, leaving those ports untouched and functional, until Linebacker II.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

And the flying telephone poles were ready and waiting for us.

[Divinity]

They're not put on a pedestal. Some Conservatives worship the idea of the soldier. And if some of them have performed service, they might put themselves on a pedestal. But overall, our soldiers aren't treated that well. If anyone really cared about our soldiers, we wouldn't be in so many fucking wars.

My daughter's friend's dad died fighting in the Iraq War. Fuck, that was a long time ago now. But she grew up without her father because Bush Jr. Needed to get revenge for daddy. And it fucking pisses me off. If we gave a damn about our soldiers, and cared about them at all, we'd think twice before sending them to get killed. If we gave a damn about our soldiers, the VA would be the best healthcare system in the world.

[The Grand Nudger]

It's about to be the best healthcare system in the US.
(snickers)

[Minimalist]

Yes, and between 1968 and 1972, nothing north of the 18th parallel, leaving those ports untouched and functional, until Linebacker II.

Thump, you seem to be forgetting that during that time Nixon and Kissinger were trying to negotiate peace.  Forlorn as the hope may have been one thing that would have really put the kibosh on the talks would have been to keep bombing the enemy capital.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Yes, and between 1968 and 1972, nothing north of the 18th parallel, leaving those ports untouched and functional, until Linebacker II.

Thump, you seem to be forgetting that during that time Nixon and Kissinger were trying to negotiate peace.  Forlorn as the hope may have been one thing that would have really put the kibosh on the talks would have been to keep bombing the enemy capital.

I get that. But offensive operations could and did go on during that period, from both sides. Would bombing northern cities have hampered it? Who knows? But LBII specifically was launched to get them back to the peace table after the deal Kissinger brokered fell apart. It seems to have worked.

[Minimalist]

Getting them back to the table is one thing.  But if they are already sitting there?