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The US was joined in Vietnam, context of this article, by France (whose problem it was to begin with), Canada, Australia, the UK, South Korea, Thailand, the Phi
by dredmorbius 2y ago
The US was joined in Vietnam, context of this article, by France (whose problem it was to begin with), Canada, Australia, the UK, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan, and other states.
The US was at the time in military alliances with much of Western Europe (NATO, 1949), South Pacific (SEATO, 1955), and an intelligence alliance (Five Eyes, 1941), amongst numerous other alliances and strategic partnerships.
The US was born in battle with the assistance of France. Lafayette and the Statue of Liberty attest to this.
At the time Americans was written (1974), the US was the world's leading superpower. It's not terribly surprising that in general aid flowed from the US to other states. But the flow and alliances were far from one-way even then.
Your song, as with your broader point and follow-ups, is an extraordinary misreading and misrepresentation of history.
- sillywalk 2y agoCanada didn't fight in Vietnam. Canada was part of the International Control Commision (along with Poland & India). Canada sold the US a couple $ Billion in weapons and allowed the US to test defoliating agents on a base in New Brunswick, and Canadians joined the US Military to fight in Vietnam.
- dredmorbius 2y agoMy error, apologies.
- mmooss 2y agoAlso, all of NATO triggered Article 5 (mutual defense) for the only time ever, after 9-11, and they went to Afghanistan. The UK and other countries, though not as many, went to Iraq. The competition with China depends heavily on alliances with Japan, S. Korea, the Philippines, Australia, and others. In fact, no country depends on and utilizes its allies more than the US.
- dredmorbius 2y agoI'd focused on alliances and support received prior to 1974, the year the song (and the diatribe on which it was based) emerged. In the subsequent 51 years, there've been additional instances, including much mutual aid during natural disasters in which the US has received (or occasionally turned down) assistance from other states, near and far.