I've been playing around with this scenario for a couple of months now, and I would love to receive some feedback on its plausibility. Please understand that my knowledge on the Congo is very basic, so do forgive me if I've made mistakes.
The scenario in question revolves around the Congo Crisis being snowballed into a Vietnam-styled war for the United States. It should be noted that the Vietnam War never happens (due to Japan being an Ally during WWII) and that Cuba is a US state. What I'm considering is that Che Guevara finds his way to Africa far earlier than OTL. He would view the Congo Crisis the same as the Cuban Revolution (OTL) and works to help the Congolese fight against European domination. Guevara's motivation pushes the Simba Rebellion further than OTL (Kasai and Katanga fall to Communist forces).
Operation Dragon Rouge becomes a bloody failure and sparks the United States to send forces into the Congo, resulting in a Vietnam-like war for the US. Following the end of the war, the nation completely falls to communism (a la Vietnam).
I haven't explored much else following this period, as I would rather wait to see if my aforementioned scenario is even plausible (but here are some basic footnotes for those who are interested). Since you guys were so helpful with my Japan thread, I would love to see what can be said about this. I'd appreciate it if the this thread can focus on plausibility as opposed to support. I look forward to your comments.