Vietnam War And The Second Indochina War - 2792 Words

1. Describe and assess the US involvement in Vietnam during the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Your discussion must include (but not be limited to) an analysis of the decisions of 1953-54, 1963, and 1964-65. To understand the Vietnam War and its role as a proxy war in the escalation of arms and ideological chasm between the United States and the Soviet Union, it is important to consider its beginnings. While many consider the Vietnam War a single, continuous phase of conflict, my essay will attempt to discuss it as two separate ones (the First Indochina War and the Second Indochina War) in order to better understand how the different administrations took upon military and political decisions, often changing the strategy of U.S. involvement. The First Indochina War began during the latter half of the 1940s and continued into the early part of the 1950s, during the Truman administration. The conflict was directed through the Viet Cong, a communist national liberation front aided by the North (which received aid from the Soviet Union and China), interested in ensuring South Vietnam was established under the tenants of communism. Their attacks against the government of South Vietnam trigger ed a vision of expansionary communism, which forced the United States government to consider the freedom of South Vietnam as important within a larger containment strategy. Containment stemmed from domino theory—largely under Eisenhower—which assumed that if oneShow MoreRelatedConsequences of Vietnamese Victory Against the French in Periods 1954-19641707 Words   |  7 Pagesconsequences of the Vietnamese victory against the French for Indochina in the periods 1954-1964. The Vietnamese victory against the French at the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 brought about dramatic changes to Indochina. These changes took place in the Geneva Conference which shortly happened after the battle of Dien Bien Phu. General Vo Nguyen Giap and Ho Chi Minh who were the Vietminh’s leader had only one goal and that was to unify Vietnam and declare independence from colonial rule but howeverRead MoreThe Vietnam War1402 Words   |  6 PagesThe political instability in Vietnam from 1950 to 1975 between the communist North Vietnam and anti-communist South Vietnam during the Cold War era has led to the United States’ inevitable intervention in Vietnam. The main motivators for the United States’ incremental decision to intervene and commitment in Vietnam can be viewed as an accumulation of socio-political, political and economic catalysts. 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The United States faced much criticism world wide through literature during the war that continued after the war ended in 1975. The American governments reasoning for getting involved was to prevent the spread of communism in South Vietnam and t o essentially prevent the domino effect. South Vietnam had no hope of winning a civil war againstRead MoreThe Second Indo China War947 Words   |  4 PagesThe Second Indo-China War, which is commonly referred to as the Vietnam War around the world and in the United States (US), pitted two very different nations against each other. This fight represents the modern day version of the biblical story of David versus Goliath. The United States at the time possessed the most technically advanced military in the world utilizing the latest high-tech equipment. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam or North Vietnam (DRV) was only a semi-industrialized nation strugglingRead More The Impact of the Media on the Vietnam War Essay1710 Words   |  7 PagesThe Impact of the Media on the Vietnam War This essay will discuss to what degree the media can be blamed for the United States’ loss in the Vietnam conflict ending 1975. It will be based predominantly on key written resources on the subject, but it will also contain - by means of an interview - certain first-hand observations from a Vietnam War veteran. For the sake of conciseness, and in order to focus the bulk of the content on the main topic, this essay will make certain assumptionsRead MoreThe Great Downfall During The First Indochina War1033 Words   |  5 Pagesgreatest downfall during the first Indochina War. During President Franklin Roosevelt’s time in office, it has become apparent that he held great hostility towards the French colonialism in Southeast Asia, even declaring to his secretary â€Å"The case of Indochina is perfectly clear, France has milked it for one hundred years, the people of Indochina are entitled to something better than that.† A trusteeship is what President Roosevelt had in mind, this scheme would see Indochina taken away from France andRead MoreEssay on Vietnam and the Indochina Wars916 Words   |  4 PagesThe South East Asian country Vietnam became a Cold War battleground for the Second Indochina war which involved both the US and Russia’s interests. Once again it was the Capitalist struggle against Communism. The Vietnam War was a direct result of the USSR’s and China’s communist presence and pressure. America feared a chain reaction was occurring among the other Asian countries that made them change to communism one by on e. America wanted to prevent this from occurring and that is why they wereRead MoreThe Secret Of The Vietnam War1144 Words   |  5 PagesMost Americans are aware of the Vietnam war, but have never heard of the Secret War in Laos. The War in Laos was the first of it’s kind; it was the CIA’s first ever paramilitary operation during the Cold War. My family is connected to the time period of the Cold War because my grandfather was sent to a prison camp by the Communists after the US withdrew from Indochina. My family was affected by the event because after escaping the camp and seeking refuge in Thailand, my grandfather immigrated toRead MoreVietnam War : A Side Of View988 Words   |  4 Pages Vietnam War: Another Side of View Growing up in the late 1980s in Vietnam, I was getting a more comfortable life than my parents when the economy of Vietnam was on the way of recovery after the Vietnam War. I did not know much about Vietnam War and what my grandparents and my parents had witnessed and experienced. When I was in Vietnam, I have been told repeatedly that it was a 20-year-Resistance-War against America from 1954 to 1975 between the government of South Vietnam and North Vietnam. My