CIA Beach Party: The Bay of Pigs By: Lee Mcginnis [pic] The United States Central Intelligence Agency spent its first two decades dealing with Communist incursions into western spheres of power in the same way: over throwing foreign governments from within. This response was the US golden standard until the CIA decided to try this against the great white whale of Communism in the western hemisphere: Castro’s Cuba. This doomed to fail from the start plan was executed in a series of errors that led several hundred Cuban exiles to slaughter against Cuba’s Military and bring the world to the brink of nuclear Armageddon and signal a falling out of favor of the CIA among American government for the next twenty years until the Soviet
On October 31, 1968, President Johnson announced a complete halt to the bombing of North Vietnam. On November 5, Nixon is elected President with Gerald Ford as his vice-president. (Leone 138) On March 15, 1969, Nixon found out that the Vietcong were hiding in Cambodia, so he ordered the immediate bombing of these sanctuaries, but because he was bombing sanctuaries, it was never released to the American public. (Prados 193) In May of 1969, American soldier commitment was at its peak at 543,000, also during May, President Nixon announced his first major troop withdrawal and pledged to replace the Selective Service Act with a lottery. In June Nixon announced that twenty-five thousand U.S. troops would be withdrawn and replaced by South Vietnamese soldiers.
In order to understand the reasons for the invasion we must look at the fear and loathing the U.S. had for Communism. The “Red Scare” and the “Domino Theory” were dominating American Culture and America had an extreme paranoia against the Soviet Union and the spread of Communism. Cuba was a country that sat about 90 miles off the shores of Florida and had a fierce dictator in charge, Fulgencio Batista. Fidel Castro had overthrown the government of Batista and established a new government. A few weeks after the ousting of Batista, Castro is appointed premier.
In 1955 Diem inaugurated a widespread Denunciation Campaign which limited communist influence in the south. This proved successful as 90% of Vietminh cells in the South were destroyed or forced underground. The rigged referendum of 1955 saw Diem replace Emperor Bao Dai as Head of State and the creation of the Republic of Vietnam. Diem also decided to refuse the nationwide elections in 1956 which could have resulted in victory for Ho Chi Minh. Diem was now in complete control of South Vietnam.
How effective were Pol Pot’s methods in establishing control in Cambodia by 1979? The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, was a radical communist movement, which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. In order to gain control over Cambodia and impose their ideology of Angkar, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge formed an alliance with President Sihanouk which resulted in their successful seizure of Phnom Penh. In order to consolidate this control of Cambodia, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge undertook a number of drastic methods, including the mass evacuation of urban areas, the establishment of communal living, and the implementation of terror tactics including torture and mass murder. The methods of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge were absolutely effective at establishing control as by 1975 they were in control of Cambodia.
1a: Explain why the Tet Offensive was a military defeat but psychological boost to the North Vietnamese forces (1000 - 1500 words) The Tet offensive brought about the first major signs to the general public that the U.S government were fighting an un-democratic war. In early 1968, on the Vietnamese lunar New Year a surprise communist groups resisting the South Vietnamese regime launched attack. Being led away from Saigon with false tip off as to the point of attack, the majority of American troops had been sent to the west of Vietnam to the borders of Cambodia. Whilst the American troops sped back returning faster than the NLF had anticipated Their estimated 84,000 troops (Lawrence, 2008) had stormed Saigon and for a brief time a small group held the American embassy, being seen by cameras waving the north Vietnamese flag from the roof. It was only a few days until the NLF troops had been beaten back and the American troops once again occupied Saigon and their own embassy.
Then in 1930 Trujillo ran against Horocio Vasquez for presidency, and fraudulently claimed ninety five percent of the votes. Once he was placed in power in 1931, he used The National Guard to terrorize and banished all civilian opponents (persons who were against him). Although the was a dictator, the also made some good changes to the country like, an increases on exports , the abolition of the 1905 treaty which gave the U.S control of the Dominican custom houses, and also, by 1947 the
Ngo Dinh Diem was elected for President of South Vietnam in 1955, after employing military offensives, bribes and a rigged referendum against his opposition – his corruption was already apparent. The flood of 900 000 refuges (mostly Catholic) from North
There is a Dalai Lama quote that resonates with the struggles faced by citizens under a tyrannical rule, “For it is the inherent nature of all human beings to yearn for freedom, equality and dignity, and they have an equal right to that.” Unfortunately for the civilians of Phnom Penh and the people of Cambodia, this was not the case. Between the years of 1975 and 1979, Saloth Sar, also known as Pol Pot, came to power within Cambodia on the back of national, socialist ideologies. However, once in power, he resorted to tyrannical means to propose a regime based on extreme social ideologies, such as an extreme form of agrarian socialism, as well as forcing Cambodia back to what is referred to as “Year Zero”. Pol Pot, born as Saloth Sar, was born on the 28th of May, 1928. He was educated in a Buddhist monastery, where he would then move on to a private catholic institution.
North Vietnamese soldiers intruded Cambodia and used the country as their refuge. At the same time, a communist movement, the Khmer Rouge, began pressuring the government as well. In 1970, the Khmer Rouge started anti-Vietnamese riots, and Sihanouk was overthrown by General Lon Nol. The Vietnam Peace Agreement of 1973 set removal of foreign forces from Cambodia, but the fighting did not end. The people of Cambodia hated their corrupt government, so they followed the lead of the Khmer Rouge.