THE VIETNAM WAR

The Vietnam War

Abstract

The background of US involvement in Vietnam extended many years into the past. For much of its history Vietnam was under Chinese control. In 1858 the French began their conquest of the area, and within thirty years had established protectorates in Tonkin and Annam in the northern sections, with Cochin-China in the sough. The Japanese took over in World War II and set up a puppet regime under Bao Dai, former emperor of Annam. The Vietnamese forced him out in 1945. Following WWII, from 1946 to 1954, the French made a determined effort to regain their former colonial possession. By late 1950, the French military was in a chaotic state. Troops were demoralized and their leaders were ineffective. The final defeat came at Dien Bien Phu on May 8, 1954 at the hands of the communists under their brilliant general, Vo Ngyuen Giap .

The Vietnam War

Introduction

There is a strange irony about the US involvement in South East Asia, and Vietnam in particular. In 1941, in the “Atlantic Charter” signed by the United States and its allies, the United States rejected colonialism and supported the principle of “self-determination” for all colonized countries around the world. Therefore, one might wonder why the US decided to get involved so deeply in the political destiny of a country that was a French colony fighting for its independence(Christian 2008).

Discussion

The Vietnam War is the longest war in the history of the United States, so far. The involvement, also called “the Second Indochina War” by some historians, started in the early1950s with economic and military support to French colonial forces until their defeat in 1954 after the battle of Dien Bien Phu; then, the involvement of US military advisors and small special forces in the late 50s and early 60s to finish with a full military involvement and war from 1968 to1973. Even though called the Vietnam War, it is more of a foreign conflict than a “war” because the United States has a policy called the “Rule of Law.” For the United States to be truly at war with another country, Congress must declare war on that nation. In the case of Vietnam, Congress did not declare the U.S. involvement in Vietnam an actual war thus making it more of an aid and assist against the spread of communism. How can we explain this intervention? One could argue that the Vietnam War started out of the conflict between France and its colony called Indochina that was composed by three countries, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos(Harry 2002).

US involvement that started as an attempt to fight “small brushfire wars” with limited involvement soon spiraled out of control with President Lyndon Johnson who became President after Kennedy's assassination. In 1961, South Vietnam and the US sign a military and economic aid treaty. The first ground troops arrive but they only have a defensive and military assistance role. In 1962, Lyndon Johnson, then Vice President, visits Vietnam and feels that Diem's leadership has ...