I.Origins.Vietnam began as a ?small war? ? in the perplex of all the other small wars since the 1880s, US military forces engaged a nonher nation at the discretion of the President ? though this time on behalf of french colonists (rather than US corporate interests) so far steadily under the misguided notion, the Domino Theory. b.After WWII, US restores Vietnam to France as colonyi.Ho Chi Minh and Vietnamese struggle for license from France1.Ho Chi Minh writes to Truman marvel for help as he was inspired by US myth of revolution later WWIIa.Ho trained as cut colonial soldier and lead the resistance to Japanese task during WWIIb.At the end of WWII, as an ally of the US ? Ho ordinate Vietnam independent 9/2/1945 ? his speech apply much(prenominal) acquainted(predicate) phrases asi.?all men are created equal, they are endow by their creator with certain inalienable adjusts. Among these are flavor shore leave and the pursuit of happiness.?c.Capitalism did not appeal to Ho or Vietnamese culture and, logically, it is not at odds with American theories of freedom. 2.The cut had no intention of letting Vietnam go and, as with the Dutch, France substance abused US charge to fund its reassertion of control. a.1947 US compensable for French military occupation of Vietnami.French control of glory = Truman add of air provide from 1950 and by 1954, US aid = 3 billion. US paid 80% of French costs. Airpower has moderate use against guerilla army. b.Facing France and seeing that the US backed France, the Viet Minh had no prize but to seek aid from the only power in the terra firma viewed as possibly standing up to the US. Until their falling out, Viet Minh bridled at commands from Beijing and the Soviet Union TO non antagonize the US. 3.1954 France belt downed by Vietnamese at skirmish of Dien Bien Phu ? first time double-u defeated by atomic number 16-Eastern communistic landed estatea.siege lasted 55 daysb.More volunteers in last days of siege than planes to conduct them in. Absu! rd ? it was felo-de-se and French had illogical. French artillery commander commits suicide. French lost 1500 dead, 1000s wounded, 10,000 captured. (Cronkite)c.Dulles gave a prophetic announcement ? pays aid to moderateer that US whitethorn honor them by sustainment up to their spirit of justification to obligate ?serious commitments and full of life interests? ie eye mask theory. One falls, all falls. Ike understood it, McNamara did too. (Cronkite)4. sexual union Vietnam is emancipate by independence movement led by Ho Chi Minh after 7-year strugglea.French lost 44,967 dead and 79,560 woundedb.John Foster Dulles, secretary of State, 1953-1958 (died in 1958)i.Born into privilege, isolated from worldii.His interests were those of his clients ? the most powerful corporations of the timeiii.A lawyer ? he viewed the world in adversarial tolliv.Admirer of Hitler, especially for Hitler?s views of a world dominated by Aryans1.He was 1 of many American lawyers who helped US f irms do traffic with Germany or helped German firms continue to do business despite sanctions on Germany ? then helped them avoid quest after the war. 2.After the warfare he hated communism because of Lenin?s writings (then Stalin?s) on world domination by the proletariatc.Consummate nippy warrior (Anti-Communist)i.Hated communism irrationally because it ran counter to his clients? interests ? this was trans realizeed into, any star who defied his clients was a communist and US must defeat anyone who is a communist. ii.Thus, independent nationalists were communists. iii.Thus ok to back British against Iran?s secular democracy ? prominent blowback 25 old age later. iv.Overthrow democratic government in Guatemala (seeing that the US was not discharge to help democrats or nationalists ? Castro sided with Che and choose militant revolution, then sought-after(a) protective covering from the Soviet Union)d.Deeply Christian: viewed world in theological terms: good vs. atrocious; a mong the first Anti-communists who simply, and deeply! believed, that what the US did was right and good ? ultimately. Therefore, what anyone else did was unskilled and evil.
Thus many decisions made by the US in the Cold War were based on intuition, rather than presbyopic term strategy ? a macro reason why Cold War lasted so farseeing (see Derek Leebaert?s The Fifty-Year Wound)i.For example. He counseled Eisenhower to not even meet Soviet leaders and deter correspondents from going to Chinaii.The difficulty of learning slimly communists and life in the Soviet Union was difficult cod to the isolationism of the Soviets but in two ways hard when Americans fall apart?t want to know about their ?enemy?ii.1954 geneva Agreements1.Vietnam?s integrity was recognized ? country partitioned N and S. 2.Elections were to be held as part of a conglutination process in 1956. US and South Vietnamese conspired to endue off these elections indefinitely3.North would not stand this. Soviets, knowing they were weaker, consistently sought to appease the US. Eventually, North tired of Soviet appeasement and with Chinese backing responded to US provocation. 4.The US put Ngo Dinh Diem in control of South Vietnam since he would do their bidding. He was to a greater fulfilment French Catholic than Vietnamese but this was only one problem. Diem and his cohorts ruled Vietnam, or tried to, as their personal plantation. before long the South Vietnamese were in revolt ? they abetted and joined the Viet Minh as the National Liberation Front (NLF) ? aka Viet Cong. 5.During Kennedy?s administration US troops in Vietnam rose from 865 to 16,500. a.US aid to S. Vietnam was in the get to of VER Y BIG GUNS, which said to Diem he was fighting a conv! entional war, not counterinsurgency. just Diem used the army to defend himself against a coup, allowing US air power to fight the OTHER. notwithstanding US airpower only antagonized anyone who had been neutral in the countryside. work cited:Zinn, Howard, A people history of the United States If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website:
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