The American’s setback in Vietnam War is already tattooed in their history. It triggered shameful criticism both to General William Westmoreland and the US government. Even today, many Americans still ask whether the American effort in Vietnam was a sin, a blunder, an indispensable war, a noble cause, or an idealistic campaign (History Learning Site, 2015). Instrumental to this campaign was American General William C. Westmoreland who engineered the build-up and consolidation of U.S. military forces in South Vietnam. He is considered to be the primary reason why he was not able to win the war in Vietnam as he overestimated the American people’s patience and tolerance of friendly losses.
Contextualization and introduction The Vietnam War served as a major turning point of the Cold War, during which the American public split in its support of the conflict. As a proxy in the superpower conflict between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR), the US entered to support the South Vietnamese who were at war against the communist North. To support the South and its Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), the United States sent military advisory, conducted airstrikes, and committed ground forces with the hope of curbing the growth of communist ideology in the Asian sphere of influence through a communist defeat. However, the American military ultimately did not apply full force against the Northern combatants under the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN/NVA) and Viet Cong (VC). Despite investing considerable quantities of human and material resources to support the South’s fight over control of Vietnam, the focus often diverted to concurrent threats such as West Germany.
After the turn of World War II, the country forced into yet again a civil war between the communist and the people’s republic of Vietnam. In order to aid the people and over through the communist government the United States got involved what came to be known as the Vietnam War. As the United States saw no end to the war with withdraw of US troops from Vietnam allowed the communist party to come to full power in the
The anti-war movement grew increasingly popular in American society, which led to America lost numerous supporters. Some advocates with peaceful wishes advocated the U.S could withdraw troops sent to fight in the Vietnam Wars for the reason that it would contribute to less human bloodshed and less property damage in the region. Early opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam drew its attention in the Geneva Conference of
I am very proud of all of the U.S. Soldiers, and Marines that have helped to stop the Vietcong from gaining control of the embassy. I also understand that many Americans are shocked by the attack in Saigon, they all
Whether it be the involvement of the U.S. in the Vietnam War or the decision to drop the nuclear bombs on the Japanese islands of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, wherever conflict arises, controversy is not far behind. It is easy to view military actions as great triumphs, but one must ask if they adhere to our values as human beings. General William T. Sherman’s destruction of the South in his march to the sea was not only unnecessary in terms of the outcome of the war, but the extent of its brutality was inhumane and negatively impacted the cause for peace between the North and the South during and after the war. Sherman’s obliteration of the South in his march to the sea was uncalled for and against the very purpose of the war. The treatment of
Regardless, there ensued a civil war in Korea. The Korean war can be regarded as civil war because not very long ago Korea was one political entity and both North Korea and South Korea considered the Korean peninsula to be under one authority and wanted unification of Korea. However the extent of military force employed by North Korea soon made it clear that it was a full scale military attack on South Korea. Americans had not heavily armed the South Koreans because, as NCS-68 document points out, Eastern part of Asia was of leeser concern to United States and to some extent they realized the obsession of Rhee to unify Korea could make him take military action if provided with enough resources. It was imperative from the perspective of United States to counter this aggression because it was highly unlikely for North Korea to have acted without the support of its Allies, namely, PRC and USSR.
The Korean War emerged after the Soviet Union intended to spread Communism around the world; it began with China, following to North Korea, intending to reach the South area. Communism represented a threat to the United States since the latter “prized the concepts of personal liberty and freedom of political organization” (Staff, 2010), while the former aimed a society that followed Karl Marx’s motto: from each according to his ability, to each according to his need. During the Red Scare—national anti-communism movement—the United States saw Communism as a threat, the United States firmly believed that engaging into a war that fought the spread of Communism was for the common good. The Just Ad Bellum principle states that for a war to be just, it must be declared openly by a proper sovereign authority. However, the United States’ participation was not declared by the U. S. Congress, but when North Korean’s intention to take over South Korea were identified, President Harry Truman “ordered naval and air forces into action.” (Greenspan, 2013) The United States just intentions were based on stopping the spread of Communism not only within the nation, but internationally wide.
The Vietnam War was the first war to be televised and revealed what was truly happening in Vietnam. Also, newspapers revealed stories and government secrets that proved that the American people were being lied to ( New York Times vs. the United States). The Vietnam war is believed by some to be a war deeply rooted in economics. Many aspects of the United States were affected directly. The Great Society programs were suffering because the money that was put towards the war, could have been used to help poverty programs.
The French colonized Vietnam because of their interests in land and labour. Vietnam is a very fertile country, so they needed Vietnam to make profit. The French rule was not favored by the Vietnamese because they did not want to be colonized and it was nothing short of cruelty. Vietnam was also occupied by the Japanese in 1940 until 1945 when France had to leave some parts of Vietnam during the second World War. 3.