As opposed to the other superpower, America got directly involved, sending not only financial aid1 but actively participating in the military effort. American involvement in the Vietnam War was an unnecessary commitment which negatively impacted on public opinion of the United States government throughout the world during the 1960’s and turned the civil war between North and South Vietnam into a theatre of operation for the great power rivalry which resulted in increased cold war
The Vietnam War was a very confusing and tough time for both the world and the United States. Many Americans did not know why exactly we were there in Vietnam for the war and for what reasons. There were many great leaders who were very influential in the Vietnam War; some were also not so great ones. Ho Chi Minh and John F. Kennedy were two presidents, who both had two completely different views that changed the war in many ways. Ho Chi Minh was President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Fearing communism the United States government committed their troops to defend South Vietnam. Still, North Vietnam overpowered the South and the United States ended up having to send in more and more troops to fight South Vietnams battle. The U.S. troops had no choice but to view the Viet Cong and North Vietnam as their enemy in order to survive helping the South Vietnamese. The length of the war and the high number of casualties turned many United States citizens against the war. Finally, defining who the enemy was in the Vietnam War completely depends on who you ask.
3. ["Lessons of Vietnam by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, ca. May 12, 1975, in http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/vietnam.htm). Similarly, the financial burden of the War called political judgment into question; doubts were rife about the tactics, and ever decision was scrutinized on the nightly news, with most Americans feeling that “we simply did not belong there,†(Davidson, 1991, inclusive). More than anything, the Vietnam War emphasized what was wrong on the home front, and that a superpower was not always a superpower '' tremendous might would not always prevail.
When Ronald Reagan, a staunch opponent of communism, was elected president, he increased defense spending and the U.S. military saw successful action and places like Grenada and Panama. In the 1990’s the communist Soviet Union, or the “Evil Empire,” as Reagan jokingly called them, collapsed. America’s long standing advisory for half a century was now gone. Even though there was no longer a need to fight communism at the time the U.S. relished its position as the lone economic and military superpower so much that America once again that the nation was sometimes referred to as “word police.” Events that transpired during the Reagan administration, as well as the dissolution of the Soviet Union were especially significant events prior to the Gulf War because they reinstated the belief in Americans that they are obligated to police the world for the sake of democracy and promoting their national
(Thanks to Howard Zinn's A People’s History of the United States [2] for inspiration.) Unfortunately the vast majority of Americans are either unaware of these harmful practices or have been misled about their necessity. These are some clear examples of why we should not trust the military rhetoric: •At the top of the list, of course, is the war in Vietnam, where we fought to free people who didn’t want to be freed, much less killed, and against a country which had little chance of threatening us. •But besides that, instead of responding with outrage, we’ve bowed to our own self-interest and supplied actual money and military manpower to torturous regimes and murderers of their own citizens in such countries as the Philippines (in 1980), Nicaragua (early 80’s), El Salvador (80’s), East Timor (90’s and earlier), and Colombia (now). •For dubious or even manufactured reasons, we’ve invaded Cuba (Bay of Pigs, 1961) and Grenada (1983).
If one nation fell to communism many may follow. The war in Iraq was started for reasons like freeing Iraq, oil, and Saddam Hussein’s refusal to let search for nuclear weapons be executed. Another glaring difference in the wars is the way that they are fought. In Vietnam the U.S was up against nearly 250,000 well trained North Vietnamese Army soldiers and 100,000 highly organized Viet Cong. Opposed to in Iraq where it’s multiple small cells of unorganized terrorists who use car bombs and suicides
• It has its roots in the Truman doctrine and its goal of containing communism. • Vietnam was a major zone of cold war tension after it defeated the French colonialists and created a new government in the north. • President Kennedy and Johnson thought it was a barrier to the spread of communism throughout the regions, perhaps the world. • Secretary of defense Robert McNamara warned Johnson that failure in Vietnam would result in a “complete shift of world power” with the “prestige and integrity” of the US severely damaged. This lead Johnson to continue with the fight.
The United States involvement in Vietnam started when the Vietnamese were fighting the French for independence. From the year 1945 up until 1975 the United States had a role in lives of many Vietnamese and Americans. This war was consisted North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the Americans after the French decided to give up to Vietnam. According to the United States we decided to go to war to stop communism from taking over Asia, also known as the "Domino Theory" and its freedom from attack. The Vietnamese had another reason to continue fighting the United States.
The US pushed the intruders onto the roof tops of the embassy by throwing in tear gas can onto the bottom floors and eventually taking back the building. Over time the Americans took back the cities and eliminated most of the Viet Cong that have infiltrated them and labeled it as a victory. What was a military victory would actually turn into a political defeat for the Johnson administration. The presidents administration and been reporting to the public that they were winning the war in Vietnam and that the Viet Cong showed no sign of strengthening prior to the Tet Offensive. When the offensive happened and