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The Vietnam War
The
Vietnam War was the prolonged struggle between
nationalist forces attempting to unify
the country of Vietnam under a
communist government and the United States (with
the aid of
the South Vietnamese)
attempting to prevent the spread of communism.
Engaged in a war that
many viewed as
having no way to win, U.S. leaders lost the
American public's support for the war.
Since the end of the war, the Vietnam
War has become a benchmark for what not to do in
all
future U.S. foreign conflicts.
Dates of the Vietnam War: 1959 -- April
30, 1975.
The Vietnamese had suffered under
French colonial rule for nearly six decades when
Japan
invaded
portions
of
Vietnam
in
1940.
It
was
in
1941,
when
Vietnam
had
two
foreign
powers
occupying them, that communist
Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh
arrived back in
Vietnam after spending
thirty years traveling the world.
Once
Ho was back in Vietnam, he established a
headquarters in a cave in northern Vietnam and
established the Viet Minh, whose goal
was to rid Vietnam of the French and Japanese
occupiers.
Having
gained
support
for
their
cause
in
northern
Vietnam,
the
Viet
Minh
announced
the
establishment
of
an
independent
Vietnam
with
a
new
government
called
the
Democratic
Republic
of
Vietnam
on
September
2,
1945.
The
French,
however,
were
not
willing
to
give
up
their colony so easily
and fought back.
For years, Ho had tried to
court the United States to support him against the
French, including
supplying the U.S.
with military intelligence about the Japanese
during World War II. Despite this
aid,
the United States was fully dedicated to their
Cold War foreign policy of containment, which
meant preventing the spread of
Communism.
This
fear
of
the
spread
of
Communism
was
heightened
by
the
U.S.
theory,
which
stated that if one country in Southeast
Asia fell to Communism then surrounding countries
would
also soon fall. To help prevent
Vietnam from becoming a communist country, the
U.S. decided to
help France defeat Ho
and his revolutionaries by sending the French
military aid in 1950.
In 1954, after suffering a decisive
defeat at Dien Bien Phu, the French decided to
pull out of
Vietnam.
At
the
Geneva
Conference
of
1954,
a
number
of
nations
met
to
determine
how
the
French could peacefully
withdraw. The agreement that came out of the
conference (called the
Geneva
Accords)
stipulated
a
cease
fire
for
the
peaceful
withdrawal
of
French
forces
and
the
temporary division of
Vietnam along the 17th parallel (which split the
country into communist
North Vietnam
and non-communist South Vietnam). In addition, a
general democratic election
was to be
held in 1956 that would reunite the country under
one government. The United States
refused to agree to the election,
fearing the communists might win.
With
help from the United States, South Vietnam carried
out the election only in South Vietnam
rather
than
countrywide.
After
eliminating
most
of
his
rivals,
Ngo
Dinh
Diem
was
elected.
His
leadership, however, proved so horrible
that he was killed in 1963 during a coup supported
by
the
United
States.
Since
Diem
had
alienated
many
South
Vietnamese
during
his
tenure,
communist
sympathizers in South Vietnam established the
National Liberation Front (NLF), also
known as the Viet Cong, in 1960 to use
guerrilla warfare against the South Vietnamese.
As
the
fighting
between
the
Viet
Cong
and
the
South
Vietnamese
continued,
the
U.S.
continued
to
send
additional
advisers
to
South
Vietnam.
When
the
North
Vietnamese
fired
directly upon two U.S.
ships in international waters on August 2 and 4,
1964 (known as the Gulf
of Tonkin
Incident), Congress responded with the Gulf of
Tonkin Resolution. This resolution gave
the President the authority to escalate
U.S. involvement in Vietnam. President Lyndon
Johnson
used that authority to order
the first U.S. ground troops to Vietnam in March
1965.
President
Johnson's goal for U.S. involvement in Vietnam was
not for the U.S. to win the war,
but
for U.S. troops to bolster South Vietnam's
defenses until South Vietnam could take over. By
entering
the
Vietnam
War
without
a
goal
to
win,
Johnson
set
the
stage
for
future
public
and
troop disappointment
when the U.S. found themselves in a stalemate with
the North Vietnamese
and the Viet Cong.
From 1965 to 1969, the U.S. was
involved in a limited war
in Vietnam.
Although there were
aerial
bombings
of
the
North,
President
Johnson
wanted
the
fighting
to
be
limited
to
South
Vietnam. By limiting
the fighting parameters, the U.S. forces would not
conduct a serious ground
assault into
the North to attack the communists directly nor
would there be any strong effort to
disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail (the Viet
Cong's supply path that ran through Laos and
Cambodia).
U.S.
troops
fought
a
jungle
war,
mostly
against
the
well-supplied
Viet
Cong.
The
Viet
Cong
would
attack
in
ambushes,
set
up
booby
traps,
and
escape
through
a
complex
network
of
underground tunnels. For
U.S. forces, even just finding their enemy proved
difficult. Since Viet
Cong
hid
in
the
dense
brush,
U.S.
forces
would
drop
Agent
Orange
or
napalm
bombs
which
cleared an area by
causing the leaves to drop off or to burn away. In
every village, U.S. troops had
difficulty
determining
which,
if
any,
villagers
were
the
enemy
since
even
women
and
children
could build booby
traps or help house and feed the Viet Cong. U.S.
soldiers commonly became
frustrated
with the fighting conditions in Vietnam. Many
suffered from low morale, became angry,
and some used drugs.
American in our eyes
To much of the world, the United States
of America is an example of freedom and democracy.
It is a country to be emulated, or
copied, in many ways. The sense that power belongs
to the
people, is at the root of the
American system of law. While many Americans take
for granted the
freedoms
guaranteed
by
their
democratic
system
of
government,
these
freedoms
are
just
far-away dreams for people of some
other countries.
The
U.S.
Constitution
is
the
world's
oldest
document
in
continuous
use.
It
presents
the
fundamental laws of the
United States. Other nations regularly adopt the
lofty principles found in
the
Constitution
for
their
own
use.
The
United
States
has
a
long
history
of
supporting
democratic
principles
around the world. It stands tall as the
world's lone military superpower. With this power
comes
responsibility. The United States
cannot stand alone. The world is much too small.
It takes wise
leaders
and
wise
citizens
to
realize
this
and
to
encourage,
as
well
as
to
support,
cooperations
between
nations.
This
can
be
a
hard
job,
but
for
more
than
200
years,
leaders
of
the
United
States have been
trying to do just that. While the fit may not
always be perfect, Americans are
still
proud that they are generally respected for their
system of government.
The
American
media
sets
the
trend
for
global
culture.
Young
people
around
the
world
love
American movies, American dance steps,
and American music. International teens copy
American
clothing styles, slang, and
eating habits.
Not all people like the
United States. Some think that the American
government is too pushy
and self-
centered when dealing with other countries. They
fell that some American leaders do
not
listen to them or understand their problems.
Others dislike the United States because they
feel that the spread of American
culture upsets their traditional way of doing
things.
Many people emigrated to the
United States in hopes of bettering their economic
and personal
well being.
Over the past 200 years, however, the
image of freedom found in the United States has
been
powerful enough to attract
millions of newcomers from all corners of the
earth. Many of them
braved
terrible
hardships
to
reach
the
shores
of
the
United
States.
Eager
for
a
new
life,
most
came with only what they could carry.
Some arrivals sought political freedom. Others
believed
that the streets would be
paved with gold. Immigrants spread throughout the
land, passing on
their
vision
of
what
makes
a
wonderful
life
to
their
descendants.
From
the
country's
very
beginning,
immigrants
felt
that
the
United
States
was
infinitely
better
than what
they
had
left
behind
in the Old World.
The
United
States
population
is
a
“melting
pot”
made
up
of
people
from
many
e
thnic
and
cultural backgrounds.
There is no typical American.
Originating from a multitude of ethnic
backgrounds, Americans
come in all
shapes, sizes, colors, and ages. They practice a
rainbow of religions and have a variety
of political beliefs. They are doctors,
nurses, scientists, plumbers, teachers, pilots,
cowboys, and
salespeople. Some
Americans do not have jobs, but other Americans
try to help them.
Americans
live
in
mansions,
small
houses,
and
apartments.
They
live
in
sprawling
cities,
reservations,
trim
suburbs,
farms,
and
villages.
Sadly,
many
are
homeless.
Some
families
can
trace
their
American
roots
back
for
generations;
others
have
just
arrived.
The
populations
is
growing
more
diverse
all
the
time.
This
broad
mix
of
races
and
heritages
makes
a
wonderful
blend of energy, talent, and
creativity. For good reason, the country's motto
is E pluribus unum: