The key reason was fear of communism, especially since the ‘Domino Theory,’ supported the threat of communism reaching Australia. Australia also had a responsibility to help America in the Vietnam War due to the SEATO and ANZUS treaties. Finally, by following the government’s defence policy of ‘Forward Defence,’ Australia needed to be involved in the Vietnam War to contain communism away from Australia’s
Many people ask the question, “Why did the U.S. even care about the Vietnam conflict, let alone fight a war there?” One Reason for U.S. involvement in the Vietnam conflict was that the U.S. feared the Domino Theory. The Domino Theory is where if one state falls to communism, then all the other states around it will fall into communism too. Because the U.S. feared this, they responded with containment. Containment means to keep communism from spreading to other countries. Another reason for U.S. involvement is imperialism, which was left over from WWI and WWII.
After the end of the Second World War the two war time allies THE USA and SU became involved in a war of ideologies the cold war. The US saw communism as a threat to democracy and capitalism. Therefore the US set out a new foreign policy that was of containment of communism in the Truman doctrine. There were however other reasons for the USA’s involvement such as their military confidence, UN agreement, domestic pressure which called for the T admin to be more tough on communism and their economic interest in Japan which led to the US governments decision to use military intervention in the K war. The main reason for the USA’s military intervention in the Korean war was that of containment.
The conflicts between the North and the South Vietnam increased along with the Viet Cong rebels. The North Vietnam threatened South Vietnam that they will take over and make the communist. Even with the help of the United States, the South Vietnam wasn’t able to win. For both wars, the main reason for U.S. involvement was to follow the policy of United States that they will stop communist from spreading. There are many differences between the two wars.
Such as in source 8 which claims the USA wanted a war with the USSR to help its economy, emphasising the impact of the Military Industrial Complex on aggressive foreign policy which played a huge role in the development of the Cold War. Furthermore it can be argued that it was the misunderstanding and confusion between the two nations which owed more to the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-8.
Ideological concern shaped the development of Cold War because the two Superpowers’ ideology was the total opposite sides of the coins. Each of their policies such as economic and domestic policies contradicts each other, added with the bipolar assumption and zero-sum perception of the world; it seemed to them that it would be impossible for the two superpowers to coexist together. USA had a misperception about USSR that they practice the monolithic expansionistic ideology, thus stating that every country that were to turn or had a communist revolution must have started off by the incentive of the USSR. One very famous and obvious example is the Greece Crisis, where USSR was not involved at all but was accused to giving aid to the communists in Greece. Another distinct event where their difference in ideology was clearly shown was during the Yalta Conference where the party declined strictly to have their say accepted about the liberal of the Eastern Europe.
The country then feared the spread of communism which lead into more global involvement. In the Truman Doctrine proposed by president Harry Truman he states “I believe that it must be a policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures”(Reading 151). What he means by this is that the future of the United States relies on helping other countries and keeping them safe from the threats of communism/totalitarianism. The US even got involved in the Korean war that was being fought within Korea due to the fear that communism may spread. This goes to show how US is no longer under isolationism but rather being the leader of the world trying to protect
While Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy all had the same same Cold War intention of ending communism, their ways of achieving their goal were different.The Cold War was an angry dispute between the United States and the Soviet Union about whether we should spread or contain communism (Ayres 817). According to Edward Ayres in American Anthem: Reconstruction to the Present all three Presidents used some form of Economic Aid, how we help other countries financially; Military Aid, how we help other countries’ militaries; and finally, Military Use, how we utilise our military (Ayres 817). Their end goal was to completely contain, or confine communism(Truman).
WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ANZUS TREATY IN AUSTRALIA’S RELATIONS WITH THE USA? As World War 2 was brought to an end, devastation and destruction permeated throughout the entire globe. Fears for the future meant that national security was at the forefront of every state’s agenda. Faced with the struggles of the Cold War and the growing Communist powers of the East, the United States and Australia formed the ANZUS treaty of 1951. This treaty aligned Australia alongside the United States as both political and military allies; this bond becoming one of the most significant aspects of Australian military and foreign policy today.
Both sides eventually picked sides in the region and supported opposing forces. These opposing alignments became more clear when power struggles in Asia occurred. Events such as the Chinese Civil War and then the Korean War polarised the two superpowers and would serve as a precursor for future Cold War conflicts. Hence it will be argued that the power vacuum which occurred in Asia in the wake of WWII was a necessary precondition, but not the sole cause, of the Cold War in Asia. The desire of both the United States and USSR for primary influence in the region and the effects of the Chinese Civil War and Korean War must also be explored in order to fully explain the origins of the Cold War in Asia.