> Is Vietnam in any way "more independent" today than if the north had lost? Yes. > and is now mostly friendly towards the US. Independence works like that.

> Is Vietnam in any way "more independent" today than if the north had lost? Yes. > and is now mostly friendly towards the US. Independence works like that. When you let a country decide instead of forcing by military power, they might even choose to like you -- or at least, not hate you. The US and Britain are friends and allies in modern times, after all.