Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a conflict that

Was rooted in fear but was fueled by hope & misperception

Continued for 3 decades Began as an anti-colonial revolt against the

French Escalated into the ultimate Cold War proxy

conflict Was overseen by 5 American Presidents Became the consummate symbol of American

‘over-reaching’

Viet Nam had been a French colony since around 1850

After WW2 dramatically weakened French control, a power vacuum appeared.

A nationalist movement led by Ho Chi Minh began to revolt against all colonial powers (Japan, Britain, France)

President Truman initially believed that Viet Nam should become a sovereign nation

But Cold War developments caused him to re-assess the situation, determining that Viet Nam was a containment battleground

Ho Chi Minh’s gov’t had been recognized by the U.S.S.R and communist China and the American perception of him as ‘nationalist rebel’ was transformed to ‘communist villain’

The U.S. committed millions in aid and supplies to France until French withdrawal in 1954

At this point, the Geneva Convention established the 17th parallel as the permanent partition, permitting 300 days for people to move freely across the line—approx. 1 mil Catholic Vietnamese fled south—fearing communist persecution

Eisenhower was convinced that the Chinese were going to invade and claim Viet Nam

Although, the Chinese were aiding North Vietnamese forces (weapons, trucks radios), these fears were incorrect and unfortunate—the Vietnamese were suspicious of them

But Eisenhower acted on these fears, increasing aid to 1 billion

In the north, the Viet Minh—led by Ho—ruled, implementing ‘land reform’, which included the execution of 1000s of ‘state enemies’

In the south, the Catholic and American-backed Ngo Dinh Diem, was installed as prime minister

Diem began his ‘Denounce the Communists’ campaign and began jailing thousands of Viet Cong (communists)

As the conflict (which is basically a Civil War) escalates, President Kennedy sees fit to send in 16,000 American troops as ‘military advisors’

JFK’s Mixed Emotions In truth, JFK believed that it was up to Diem to defeat the Viet

Cong on his own and that

‘in the last analysis, it is their war; it is they who must win it or lose it’

And that

"to introduce U.S. forces in large numbers there today, while it might have an initially favorable military impact, would almost certainly lead to adverse political and, in the long run, adverse military consequences.”

But…against his better judgment, Kennedy introduced special forces and increased the number of ‘military advisers’ to 16,000, permitting them to engage in combat, use napalm and defoliate forests (McCauley, 59)—

Although, before his death JFK was already scaling back deployments

Here, we find one of the greatest tragedies of JFK’s tragic term:

JFK thought that by resisting the generals and providing less military than was asked of him—that he was limiting the war.

But the reality was that he was escalating it.

The Problem of Diem Diem’s regime became increasingly more brutal and

corrupt

Began employing the tactics of totalitarianism (secret police, jailing w/o trial) that the U.S. was supposed to be to against

Some in Washington began to fear that, in an attempt to keep power, Diem would strike a deal with China

Diem’s generals assassinated him in a Nov. 1963 coup

When informed of the news, JFK rushed into the room in dismay, exclaiming ‘this was never supposed to happen’

This was 20 days before his own assassination

8 Buddhist Monks Incinerate Themselves in Protest of Diem and the US

Deeper into the Mire After Diem’s death, chaos ensued, with one regime

toppling another—5 within the first year

In 1964, 2 American battleships were ‘fired upon’ in international waters by the NVA in the Gulf of Tonkin

Lyndon Johnson received broad permission from Congress to do whatever he deemed necessary to stop communism in SE Asia—Tonkin Gulf Resolution

This began a bombing campaign of unprecedented proportions by the US

Between March 1965 and Nov 1968, Operation ‘Rolling Thunder’ flooded North Vietnam with over 1 million tons of rockets, bombs and missiles

The SVA proved unable to resist the communist forces

US Senior Commander General William Westmoreland called for more troops on the ground to support the air attack

Johnson authorized 200,000 soldiers, eventually peaking with half a million--but it wasn’t enough—neither was ½ a million

The US was not skilled in fighting an unconventional war against guerilla fighters in the jungles of Asia

In 1968, the NVA and Viet Cong launched the surprise Tet Offensive against the SVA and US forces, producing the deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers

At this point, American public opinion soured quickly and dramatically

"Lyndon Johnson's escalation of the war in Vietnam divided Americans into warring camps... cost 30,000 American lives by the time he left office, (and) destroyed Johnson's presidency…” (Historian Robert Dallek)

The American media began to immerse the public with images of death and horror and the belief that Viet Nam could be won died a slow, painful death

Nixon & Vietnamization

While asking the American public to continue to support the effort, new President Richard Nixon began to draw down troop levels—under extreme pressure from the growing Anti-War Movement—and demand the SVA to stand on its own

But, on the other hand ‘he did not want to become the first American President to admit military defeat’

Nixon secretly authorized the invasion of neutral Cambodia in an attempt to cut off NVA supply lines (this spilled over into Laos, as well) along the Ho Chi Minh Trail

Defeat? On 15 January 1973, Nixon announced the suspension

of offensive action against North Vietnam.

Early in 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed officially ending direct US involvement in the Vietnam War.

Ceasefire was declared across North and South Vietnam

POW’s were released

The territorial integrity of Vietnam was guaranteed and national elections were called for

US forces were given 60 days for full withdrawal

2 years later Saigon (the capitol of S. Vietnam) fell to the communist forces

Outcomes In April of 1975, Saigon fell to the NVA

After 116 years of fighting against foreign occupation, the Vietnamese had ousted all outside powers

But the cost was high—nearly 3 million casualties were required

All of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia came under communist rule

The USSR had contributed ~$ 2 million a day in materials

The US had spent over 100 billion and accrued a huge national deficit

Congress ended ‘The Draft’

The use of horrible chemical weapons (Agent Orange, napalm) had been introduced by the US

Horrible torture techniques by the VC: beheadings, tiger cages, etc.

The country of Vietnam was left in ruins