As a note on this: it only worked because neither party wanted to start a war with the US. US naval escort during times of war - especially modern drone- and missile-based war - is just putting more eggs in the basket.

And right in line with the OP you responded to, that was 40 years ago

There were no drones back then and it's a real game-changer for asymmetric warfare.

That was a completely different time when the US Navy had around 600 ships.