Analysis of America's Longest War: the United States in Vietnam

The Vietnam War was the longest and most controversial war that involved the United States and it greatly impacted the United States. Some even compare this war to that of the United States’ involvement in Afghanistan. The Vietnam War lasted from November 1, 1955 until April 30, 1975. It was a cold war that took place in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Lao. North Vietnam backed by the Soviet Union was on one side against the opposing side of South Vietnam backed by the US, Philippines, and other non-communist countries. Between 1960 and 1973, many antiwar movements in the United States arose which consisted of many people who were united in the common cause to resist the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. They strongly believed that a war in Vietnam was clearly unjust and led to the United States’ decision to eventually withdrawn its troops from the war.

President Dwight Eisenhower conditionally pledged to support South Vietnam’s new nation in 1955. In the time period between 1955-1961 the United States pumped seven billion dollars in aid so that Vietnam would not “go over quickly” like a “row of dominoes” (McNamara 31). In the next 6 years Vietnam would cost America billions of dollars, thousands of lives, and the disaffection of much of the United States public. Yet in the end, South Vietnam would fall to the North less than 2 years after the United States military involvement ceased.

He feels Yanagi’s pain through the connection but he does not draw attention to it. To be in the heat of a powerplay game such as the one boiling over in Konoha right now is a moment of extreme delicacy and ruthlessness; attachments are withheld, persons numbed down. The rampant mentality is this: eliminate those who are likely to get in one’s way, even if they are friends, or valuable allies. Nobody who lived through the Warring States Era would be unfamiliar with this tenet: do what must be done. And if Tobirama was forced to choose among the Yamanaka twins, he would keep Yanagi alive, simply because she is now the more valuable of the two, even though Yanagi herself and most definitely, not Osamu, would admit it. For to dabble in politics is to know who has value, worth and utility, and who do not.

The Vietnam War started on the 1st November 1955, however full U.S military involvement was not until over ten years later in 1965 following the Gulf of Tonkin incident in which a U.S Destroyer was reportedly fired upon by North Vietnamese forces. Once again, as with the Korean War five years previous, the North part of the country was the Communists and the South part was the Capitalists. The Vietnam War was a lot more forthcoming than the Korean War, given the ten year period in which military advisers resided in Vietnam before the outbreak. Despite this build up the interest in Vietnam by war correspondents was at a minimal level. It is reported that even in 1963, just two years prior to the full involvement of the U.S military, there were only enough full-time correspondents to fill a table at a restaurant . The lack of media personnel in the country until 1965 shows that despite the indications shown in Korea for the USA to protect their interests, there is not much pull unless there is a full military involvement. The number of correspondents around in Vietnam before 1965 was at a measly eight. However, signifying the size of the war, the peak number in March 1968 hit 645 correspondents in Vietnam . Amongst this number saw a large quantity of female correspondents make their way to Vietnam. In all 467 women were accredited to being correspondents during the war, the most ever in any war . This may have been as a result of the

The Vietnam War was fought between North Vietnam communists led by their leader Ho Chi Minh and South Vietnam anti-communists led by their president Ngo Dinh Diem. North Vietnam was trying to taking over South Vietnam to make it a communist country. That is when the U.S. came knocking on South Vietnam’s door and gave them much needed help in 1950. In Eric Foner’s and John A Garraty’s essay, “Vietnam War,” they explain, “from Washington’s perspective, . . . [a]ny communist anywhere, at home or abroad, was, by definition, an enemy of the United States” because of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “domino theory” (Foner). Eisenhower’s “domino theory,” was a theory that if communists took over Vietnam, they would gradually control all of Southeast Asia. The first aid given by the U.S. was to France. Willbanks explains in his essay that the U.S. provided France, a South Vietnamese ally, $2.6

However, this did not last and reasons for America's turnaround are many. During WW2 the US had viewed Indochina as of limited importance but they began to reassess the situation (Herring, 1986). France responded to Ho's proclamation by enlisting Britain's help in expelling the Vietminh from the south of the country, creating a division between Ho's North Vietnam and French South Vietnam. This was followed by fruitless attempts to negotiate an agreement between the French and Vietminh that lasted over a year. For the Vietminh, unification was vital for the country's survival as food production was mostly in the south, but the French refused to budge.

The US has been known to diverge from its once-isolationist state, engaging in international affairs like World War I and several other events alike. It’s therefore no surprise that the US intervened in the Vietnam War during the 1960’s. At the time, President Lyndon B. Johnson put forth new ideas, plans and tactics to help and protect the South Vietnamese and surrounding countries from communist influence. However, the United States’ initial goals and plans didn’t always go the way they had expected. Indeed, Johnson’s Vietnam policies failed because of his unreasonable military strategies and his inefficient political actions.

The United States played a very crucial role in the conflict that occurred in Southeast Asia between the U.S.-backed democratic South Vietnam, and Soviet-backed communist North Vietnam. Following the defeat of its French administration in 1954, North Vietnam, led by Communist leader Ho Chi Minh, wanted to reunify the country with the help of its rebel allies in the south, known as the Viet Cong. Out of this chaos emerged a difficult situation for the United States, as Cold War sentiments were present within this proxy war between the two powerful nations and the third party of Vietnam. The United States wanted to support Ngo Dinh Diem, leader of South Vietnam, in order to ensure his government would not fall into ruins and be taken control by the communists, but President Eisenhower was also hesitant to get his troops involved in this large scale conflict in Southeast Asia.

The War in Vietnam remains to be a blemish of American foreign policy today and remains as a crisp thought to those who lived it. As the decades pass away through the sands of time, historians and civilians alike further their wonder of who was truly responsible for this calamity. Verily, this war was the full responsibility of Lyndon Johnson because he failed to learn from former presidents of why fighting was happening, he accrued some of Kennedy’s inept advisors and, he was selfish in terms of the reason why he gave the approval for war.

The Vietnam War was certainly controversial. There were many protests that erupted across college campuses and throughout numerous town and cities. Many individuals viewed the war as unnecessary and unwinnable. The draft was also very widely criticized and seen as a negative point in the war. The draft was forcing young college students to go fight in dangerous territory. The most controversial aspect of the Vietnam War is certainly that it was deemed unwinnable by the US government, but they still chose to remain in Vietnam and fight. Why was the Vietnam War unwinnable though? Was it actually unwinnable or did the US government

For many, the Vietnam War was unwinnable, I agree with this statement to a large extent. The Vietnam War began on the 1st of November 1955 to the 30th of April 1975. The war killed 521 men and wounded over 3,000 during the 10 long years. The harsh conditions, fighting on enemy soil and the media played a significant role in the failure of preventing the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong taking over Vietnam and turning it into a communist country with fear it could lead to a domino effect.

The United States of America seems to always be searching for conflict with other countries. If one looks at history, he or she can see the United States “sticking their nose in other peoples’ business,” which seems to cause conflict. Former president Richard M. Nixon once said, “No event in American History is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now.” One can take this quote into consideration and realize that the truth was not all there. The United States involvement in the Vietnam War can be argued as a good thing or a bad thing; however, the bad definitely outweighs the good.

Though out history, American has had its hand in conflict with other countries. Some of those conflicts have turned out into wars. Looking back at America’s “track record” with war, America has a worthy past of having its citizen’s support. Obviously the two World Wars we not controversial. The United States in the Korean War was criticized, fairly, for its strategy, but the need to defend South Korea was never questioned. In only the Vietnam War was the United States’ very participation criticized. This is such a gigantic change with prior wars that it bears study as to why it happened, and better yet, should have it happened. This paper will discuss the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, by asking the simple question, Should have the Untied States’ gotten involved into the first place. This paper will prove that in fact, America should have not gotten involved with the Vietnam War.

Diem was very much a nationalist, but not communist, and this is what drew the Americans to Diem. The need had arisen to replace the Bao Dai emperorship, for in the eyes of many Vietnamese it was a sham and the only other alternative was that of the communists and Ho Chi Minh. Diem understood this and he, “insisted that France’s “Bao Dai solution” was all but handing Indochina to the Viet Minh. Only a Vietnamese leader who had not collaborated with either the French or Communists could succeed in forming a government to rival that of Ho” (28). His arguments of Vietnamese nationalism made sense to many political figures in Washington, thus putting him further in the front running for American support. Diem also secured further support from his Catholic faith, which put him in good with many influential figures in America, such as Cardinal Spellman who was very influential in right wing political circles. Faith was a very strong motivator

From the beginning, the people of America had a distrust in the government when they first began to involve themselves in the Vietnam War. The United States feared that communism would overtake the world, and, unlike the majority of its citizens, the government of America felt it their responsibility to prevent this from happening. An opportunity presented itself in which America could aid in the prevention of the overtaking of Vietnam by a communist government. South Vietnam and North Vietnam were separated at the seventeenth parallel, and South Vietnam wanted it to remain that way and to become its own independent country and democracy. However, North Vietnam and its leader, Ho Chi Minh, wanted to unite both North and South Vietnam under communist rule. In 1954, President Eisenhower put into effect America’s plan to halt the spread of communism. Eisenhower sent a letter to Ngo Dinh Diem, the Prime Minister of South Vietnam, with America’s plans and motives in efforts to gain the trust of a possible new American ally. The citizens of America saw this, not as an opportunity, but as a danger to their precious country. The American government viewed South Vietnam’s situation as a cry for