USA's Involvement in the Vietnam War

USA's Involvement in the Vietnam War

The USA had a colossal hatred for the strong spread of communism that

seemed to sweep across Eastern Asia. Although Vietnam, part of

Indochina in South-East Asia was many thousands of miles away from the

USA, due to obsessive paranoia and the threat of its national

interest, America felt threatened adequately enough to fight a war

there. The USA’s suspicion that the communists were taking over the

world was exceptionally strong. Their explanation for their most

paranoid attitude lay in the Korean War, the communist take-over of

China, the Cold War and also the communist success over the French in

Vietnam. The USA remained indirectly involved until 1965.

In 1880, Vietnam was taken over by the French and they wanted to

establish Imperial rule. The Head of State chose a ‘puppet leader’ –

Emperor Bao Dai to run Vietnam in the French way. In the 1930’s Ho Chi

Minh, a communist, spoke out about this and was sent into exile. When

France had put its attention to the Second World War, Japan invaded

Vietnam. Vietnam was left vulnerable and open to invasion and it gave

Ho Chi Minh, the perfect opportunity to return. The Vietnamese people

wanted independence and a leader. Ho Chi Minh set up the Vietminh- a

broad front of Vietnamese patriots and nationalists formed on the

initiative of the communist party. Under the military leadership of

General Vo Nguyen Giap, the Vietminh (League for the Independence of

Vietnam) began a Guerilla war against the Japanese. This

unconventional method of war gave the Vietminh a level of invisibility

in the forests and their advantaged ways allowed them to win.

The USA,...

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...USA after France’s withdrawal began to send in more and more

military advisors and they knew that the only solution to help

overthrow the Vietcong was to increase drastically their involvement

with more equipment, more advisors, more supplies. Even better, they

could directly involve themselves in the war.

All the USA needed was a justified reason to transform their indirect

involvement to involvement of a direct nature. Their excuse came in

1965 when the Vietcong infiltrated and attacked the US base of Pleiku.

Finally, the USA’s initial indirect involvement over the years proved

to be of no help whatsoever. It became purely an immense mistake; with

huge financial investments wasted. Despite all the time, money and

effort spent, the domino effect had already begun and all that America

had done had proved pointless.