 This conclusion, however, is contested by Shelby L. Stanton, who noted the same effect as Davidson but interpreted it as detrimental to the American military strategy.Instead of driving the VC into a more "vulnerable posture", as had been intended by MACV, they were in fact driven into Cambodia and hence into a region beyond the allied forces' reach where, together with the North Vietnamese Army, they established sanctuaries immune to US attacks.In fact, as Davidson also acknowledged, they had demonstrated the capability of recovering and returning to the area within just a few days.