United States Involvement In Vietnam

The Vietnam War began in 1954 after years of conflict stretching back to the 1940s between the communist regime of North Vietnam and South Vietnam. North Vietnam was attempting to make South Vietnam a communist country; since we are a democracy, the United States opposes the views of communist countries, and because we feared the spread of communism the United States became involved as an ally of South Vietnam. The war ended in 1975, resulting in disastrous effects on Vietnam and America. The assertion of the United States in this war rose controversy among Americans, and I disagree with our involvement in the Vietnam War because of the United States’ reasons to fight.

Over thirty years ago the Vietnam War ended, and the U.S. came back home with their tails between their legs and nothing to show for other than a high number of casualties, and a huge pile of debt. The U.S. underestimated the North Vietnamese army, and it was costly. Many believe that the Vietnam War was none of the U.S. business, but on the contrary, many believe we should have tried to stop the spread of communism. The long-lasting Vietnam War was unnecessary for the U.S. to be a part of; it put many people through unneeded stress and hard times.

Exploring the Reasons for United States' Involvement in Vietnam 1. US involvement in Vietnam The US wanted to stop communist expansion into South Vietnam after successfully stopping them from capturing South Korea but President Eisenhower could not get the support of the people. Therefore he used a different way i.e. sending a team of 12 intelligence agents under Colonel Edward Lansdale to win over the South Vietnamese people by spreading lies about the Ho Chi Minh government killing political opponents and the presence of Chinese communists in South Vietnam. Besides that colonel Lansdale also employed mercenaries to sabotage North Vietnam and boost up the image of President Diem.

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.

Like a moth to a flame, the United States has always been attracted to international affairs. In this particular case communism in Vietnam was the flame that leered American bugs in, not knowing that they would be brutally burned by communism in the end. From 1953 to 1961, all the initial decisions involving Vietnam were made by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who once served as the Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe as well as the first Supreme Commander of NATO. Thus, Eisenhower was very knowledgeable about war issues and was prepared to tackle pending conflicts and avert the dispersal of communism when he came into office. Communism was an immense fear of this great patriot, who witnessed to the “Red Scare” during the

Going over to Vietnam was a decision made by the U.S. government to go over and stop Communist from taking over South Vietnam. This resulted in a long and costly war. Sending over 500,000 Americans over to help fight this Communist battle. According to The Vietnam War Statistics web page, there were only 1,728,344 men drafted but only 38% of the men actually served. The death toll for Americans was up to 58,000 people, meaning that one in every ten people died.

Before the famous Vietnam war started, America promised we would keep communism from taking over. When Eisenhower and Kennedy were in office they continued to supply weapons, funds, and military advisors to South Vietnam. America stepped in when North Vietnam began to take over South Vietnam. We stepped in to help South Vietnam because they are our allies and they couldn't take on North Vietnam alone. This action taken by the United States government to step in created many problems within our own country.

The U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War helped for the South Vietnamese for a while,

and it also does not state why it was a concern. It could have been

Lyndon B. Johnson inherited the war from Kennedy in 1963 and it was his responsibility to lead America through the Vietnam war and stop communism, he planned was to escalate the war. The Gulf of Tonkin resolution was what really involved the US in the war and made them a big part of it. The alleged attacks of North Vietnam on the USS Maddox angered America and it was a way for Johnson to organise attacks on North Vietnam. He now had an excuse and his main view on the war was to escalate it. Although he had a lot of support from US citizens, there were some people protesting against his approach towards the war later on.

The Vietnam war is exactly the kind of situation George Washington had in mind when he warned the future leaders of the United States against alliances. While they offer a level of security, they can also be a liability especially when you are as strong as the United States was in the middle of the twentieth century. And this is exactly what happened in Vietnam, when the United States becomes too invested in our commitment to allies it hinders our ability to focus on domestic policy. The question we should have asked before getting involved is, “how will this affect our ability to build from within?” During the Vietnam war, this would have meant compromising our foreign agenda, such as the multinational army. The United States then would have had the ability to maintain their appearance of a loyal alliance to the rest

The Vietnam War spanned over several decades, included several United States Presidents and caused controversy over the nation. The U.S. involvement in the war began as a fight against the spread of communism. Eventually it became unclear to the people of the United States what the goal of the war was. It caused disapproval and concern among Americans.

in 1965, the first American combat troops arrived in Vietnam. Each year the number of troops conscripted to fight in Vietnam continued to grow until y 1968, there were millions of American troops who were fighting there. Australia and New Zealand decided to also send their troops in an attempt to stop a communist takeover. Between 1965 and 1972, the US air force had launched a massive bombing campaign, which was known as Operation Rolling Thunder. The Ho Chi Minh trail was bombed in order to destroy the vegetation which hid the supply routes, a defoliant was used, and it was called Agent Orange, this then caused environmental damage. They also bombed 'strategic targets' in North Vietnam which caused a large number of civilian deaths and also

From Vietnam to Iraq, the United States has intervened in dozens of countries, claiming each instance as a fight for democracy and liberation. While that claim is embraced by some Americans, others reject it. Since the 1900s, a growing number of Americans have questioned U.S. international motives and oppose U.S. intervention abroad. These Americans believe that intervention results in pointless bloodshed without liberation. Movies can act as a medium to represent the full spectrum of American attitudes towards U.S. intervention abroad. Full Metal Jacket (1979) follows the journey of a Marine recruit during the Vietnam War, and Argo (2012) recounts the CIA rescue of six American hostages

According to this approach the war aimed at “building a better world for the humankind” (Gallicchio 981). However, the third and “critical” (Gallicchio 980) mode questions the humanitarian aspect of the United States’ involvement in the war, especially, the “proponents of this view disparaged any suggestion that war might be ennobling or serve idealistic ends” (Gallicchio 981). Nonetheless, the particular notions still exist in the American collective memory. Specifically, the first mode dominates the American collective identity and still shapes the U.S political narrative. As Marc Gallicchio has claimed, Americans view of the war was that it “had been launched by totalitarian governments that exploited the economic chaos of the global depression to begin their unimpeded campaigns against weak, disorganized, and demoralized democracies” (983).