Was The Saigon Regime Or Strategic Mistakes Made By The United States

Was the Communist victory in Vietnam due more to the inherent weaknesses of the Saigon regime or strategic mistakes made by the United States?

Discussion/Thesis: The Vietnam War provides us with a clear case of misperception and unclear objections. It is important to understand the root cause of the conflict and the nature of the protagonist. There were many missteps by both the United States and the Saigon regime, which the North Vietnamese capitalized on through the use of non-conventional means and the power of messaging. The conflict between the Communist north and newly installed Ngo Dihn Diem regime in Saigon boils down to two governments attempting to gain control of the their population. The difference is the way each employed

History shows us that the story goes beyond the US involvement in Vietnam and exposes a battle between ideologies. Ultimately, the US will be unable to keep Saigon out of communist control, which may have been a sign of severe strategic mistakes. The true path to Communist victory goes beyond US military planning and execution. The US was forced to carefully balance military objectives with world diplomacy. The entrance of China or the USSR into the war could have catapulted it to a scale beyond any side was prepared for. True victory would have been a sustaining South Vietnam so that it could protect itself from continued Communist invasion.

Even with the intervention of the United States, the inherent weaknesses of the Saigon regime enabled North Vietnam to attack their center of gravity and engage a war of attrition the South could not

This event only served to embolden Hanoi’s message of reunification under a common goal, a message that Saigon could not effectively match. This played right into the hands of the North Vietnamese who followed a “Dau Tranh” strategy which is aimed at combining armed conflict into the context of political dissidence. Thus, while armed and political Dau Tranh may designate separate clusters of activity, conceptually they cannot be separated (Pike, p. 233). By creating a seamless bond between conflict and political dissidence the North could effectively communicate their message to South Vietnamese who felt abandoned by their government. With the country engulfed bitter fighting it is easy to see how the message of politics and armed conflict can be easily