Natural Disasters Of The Vietnam War

The war in Vietnam was, and continues to be, one of the most controversial hot button topics in American history. The military’s use of dangerous pesticides, like Agent Orange, is a major part of this controversy. Agent Orange is a defoliant that was widely used to deforest dense jungle areas to reduce both hiding places and food sources for the Vietnamese. During the war, American B-52 bombers released over nineteen million gallons of Agent Orange over the Vietnamese countryside. After ten years of continuous dumping, 1971 finally marked the end of America’s use of Agent Orange and other herbicides. In 1974, the United States government, headed by Richard Nixon, swore the country would never again use chemical weapons in a first strike. (Levy and Scott-Clark)

Dow Chemical Company developed Agent Orange at Fort Detrick in Maryland. The chemical got its name from the color-coded stripe that was painted on its 55 gallon storage drums. There were many different herbicides used in Vietnam, such as agents blue, white, purple, and green. Agent Orange was the most successful herbicide, quickly killing broad leaf vegetation; therefore, it was the most widely used. The defoliant worked by accelerating the growth in plant cells until the plant prematurely dies (Wilcox x). Agent Orange was composed of an equal mixture of the herbicides 2, 4-D (n-buytl-2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetate) and 2, 4, 5-T (n-butyl-2, 4, 5- trichlorophenoxyacetate) and it was developed for chemical warfare. Altogether 90,000 tons of herbicides were used: of that 90% was used for defoliation, 8% was used for crop destruction, and 2% was used for clearing base perimeters (Dunnigan and Nofi 136). By the end of Operation Ranch Hand, 4.5 million acres of Vietnam had been defoliated.

There have been many wars throughout American history and millions of lives have been lost fighting for the land of the free. On November 1st, 1955, one of the most controversial wars in American history began; the Vietnam War. The politics behind the Vietnam War are very in-depth and important, but the issues being addressed now are based on the weapons used during the war and how they affected veterans; more specifically, the weapon is one that had more long-term effects and did not kill the enemy at the point-blank exposure. The U.S. created a newer chemical weapon known as Agent Orange. Agent Orange is a very lethal and harmful chemical that the U.S. used on the Viet Cong to try to weaken them by depriving their food source and cover. Now, over five decades after the war, veterans from both sides are still being greatly affected by this war tactic and the goal is to understand more about the human effects during and after the war.

“Agent Orange was a powerful mixture of chemical defoliants” used by the United States military during the operation Ranch Hand (History.com Staff). Just in between 1961 and 1972, U.S and South Vietnam Air Force had used approximately about 19 million gallons of herbicides throughout the southern Vietnam just for self-defense (History.com Staff). The purpose of the operation is to wipe out the North Vietnamese’ hiding forests and potential food supply sources, but later on was acknowledged to cause serious human health issues such as tumors, birth defects, and cancer. On the other hand, thanks to the geographic knowledge, “the North Vietnamese lived inside a network of tunnels that were up to 120 miles long” to surprise attack anything that walked by (Goodman). Building these tunnels took great risks, however. A large portion of the people who dug the tunnels died because of lack of air, food, collapses, and insects. Despite the difficulties, this technique seemed to be encounterable, the Americans had to go in to the tunnels and fight the North Vietnamese from inside. Thanks to certain knowledge of their situations and technologies, the intense battle extended a decade longer with both side truly proving their

Buckingham says that: “Although the final Defense Department recommendation12 upon which President Kennedy had based his decision authorizing a defoliation operation 11 called for the overt approach, Secretary McNamara continued to hold open the option of disguising the defoliation program as a South Vietnamese operation” (38). This was the option that the Air Force favored in 1961 when the first round of spraying started. A letter from Ambassador Nolting in Saigon recommends that the aircraft being used for Ranch Hand should use civilian markings and their crews should dress as civilians. This air of secrecy would surround Ranch Hand until 1966 when the campaign to defoliate Vietnam would be made

In the Vietnam war, the United States used a strategy of spraying tactical herbicides. Agent Orange was the main herbicide; it got its name from the orange strip on the drums that was used to haul it from place to place (Hillstrom and Hillstrom 184). This was not the only agent sprayed though. There were also Agents Blue, Pink, White and Green. All of which got their name the same way (Schmidt 2). This strategy seemed great at first but it was more than expected.

The Vietnam War cost many Americans their lives in the 60s and 70s. Many were drafted into the war by choice and others selectively chosen to join to help America. The contributions made had a major impact on the American side of the Vietnam War. Though many contributions were made none stand out any more than others. It is sometimes said there is always a hero in the war who helped the victory. Wars, however, do not have war heroes because a hero is making an undeniable contribution to the war and affects the victory when in reality a war is based on outsmarting the opponent and seeing who has more heart. The war does not have a hero because drafted soldiers do not always want war to occur, disorders that get to soldiers affect them for

Vietnam, arguably the most controversial war America started, the war that generated some of the largest opposition movements in American history and the war ended with America losing. The Vietnam War has become the subject of ongoing discussion and debate because it had so many aspects about it that shocked and confused the world. Some areas of debate regarding the war include the assumptions that caused its escalation and the argument about whether the war could have ended on different terms. According to historians George Herring and Loren Baritz, Americas limited war theory and their arrogant beliefs about themselves were the main assumptions that guided the escalation of the Vietnam war and are also the reason why the historians did not believe the war would have a different outcome.

Agent Orange was an innovate chemical used during the Vietnam War. It was a defoliant that helped the United States thought the war, yet it had left a permanent and devastating impact on vietnam vets and the Vietnamese people. From 1961 to 1971, the U.S. military sprayed a range of herbicides across more than 4.5 million acres of Vietnam to destroy the forest cover and food crops used by enemy North Vietnamese and Vietcong troops the majority being Agent Orange. Not only did Agent Orange contaminated areas throughout Vietnam, but the areas where the herbicides were manufactured, stored or tested in the United States and elsewhere in the world are also contaminated to this day with Agent Orange.

During the early 60’s in the Viet Nam war, Viet Cong soldiers used the protection of the forest canopy and mangroves to move troops and for ambushes against United States and Allied troops. To stop this, the US Air Force began Operation Ranch Hand in an effort to clear areas along roads, rivers and the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail using various herbicides manufactured in the United States. Agent Orange was successfully employed throughout Viet Nam while clearing thousands of square miles of forest. The agent is the cause of serious health problems and deaths of thousands of indigenous people, American soldiers, and their descendants. Eventually, after political pressure, it was pulled out of Viet Nam and taken to Johnston Atoll in the Pacific

In a mission called Operation Ranch Hand the US military sprayed millions of gallons of Agent Orange and other herbicides on trees and vegetation during the Vietnam War. Agent Orange was sprayed in Vietnam about 50 times the concentration that was recommended for killing plants therefore much of the forest and farmland in Vietnam still remain degraded

The Vietnam War was a long war that was devastating to the United States as well as Vietnam. The war was a total disaster for the South Vietnamese and was also a political and social disaster for the United States. During this time, chemicals were used during times of war and were detrimental to the people on the receiving end. One instance of this was the United States’ use of Agent Orange in Vietnam. Agent Orange’s use by the United States affected Vietnam in a negative way economically, demographically, and ecologically.

Warfare has over the years been inherently destructive in regard to sustainable development. Those who have self-interest bridge the majority of the set laws. States decline to respect international law providing protection for the environment in the times of conflict, as well as cooperating in further development. Some decide to side on the side that they feel that benefits them most or oppresses their enemy. The application of weapons, the destruction of structures, fires, military transport movements and chemical spraying are a few of the examples of the destroying impact war may have on the environment. This paper shall examine the action and environment of war, and the impact of combat and death on the soldier, and provide important insight as to why soldiers fight and the long term effect of war on veterans.

Many of the scars of the Vietnam War have healed, but one toxic wound continues to fester. An herbicide used by the United States promised to save the lives of many GIs by decreasing the strategic cover of the Viet Kong, who were North Vietnamese Communist. Agent Orange proved to have side effects that were not intended. Not only did it destroy the environment, but the lives of those it surrounded. While people can make moral judgments before their actions, a chemical does not discriminate between foe or ally.

I really enjoy the TED Talks videos and always learn a lot. Johann Hari is intriguing to listen to and backs his statements with scientific evidence. I especially like his comparison of rats getting to choose between water and heroin or cocaine (Hari, 2015). When the rats had a viable and enjoyable alternative to the desire to use the drug they choose the water in almost all instances. I think the analogy to the Vietnam War was interesting as well as the comparison to Portugal. What comes to mind for me, is the relation between the Portugal program and the manner in which positive reinforcement works. It seems the program they have been using in Portugal for the last 15 years is very effective. A 50% decrease in injectable drug use, decrease in overdose and HIV and addiction in general. The Portugal method of dealing with addiction, benefits not only those with addiction issues, but also those who employ those recovering addicts by paying half their salaries. Hari’s major point is structured around the importance of close relationships with family and friend and how our society has gotten away from this. The other video Dr. Werries posted about intervention, demonstrates the opposite of what Hari is saying in his talk. Those family and friends involved in the intervention program confront the person addicted to the substance and demand they stop the behavior or they will take away their love and discontinue their