Overview Of The Vietnam War: Political Science

Vietnam War Student’s Name Institution Affiliation Overview of the Vietnam War The Vietnam War is considered one of the most problematic wars in American History. From the start, the war was considered a morally ambiguous conflict in that it was against communism and the suppression of nationalistic self-determination. It was also characterized by paradoxes. For instance, in the beginning, the US supported rule in South Vietnam in the ‘name of protecting democracy' (Wiest, 2003). Later on, the US forces started destroying villages in the ‘bid to protect them.' The US foreign policy experienced various challenges during the war because it had poorly defined objectives. The Vietnam War mirrored the events of the Cold War. In this context, both the USSR and the US avoided direct confrontation. Wiest (2003) indicates that the primary factors that operated the war included backing proxy forces and governments that served their interests. The US backed the government of South Vietnam that was corrupt and weak. On the other hand, the Soviets backed the government of North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese was an independent group made up of nationalists that were against the foreign dominance. In this context, the North Vietnamese advocated for the unification of Vietnam to resist foreign rule (Wiest, 2003). The US antagonized the nationalist groups by taking over the power void that had been left by the former colonial power, France. In the bid to fight Communism in the region, the US ended up assuming a hated role in Vietnam. In the bid to gain control over the region, the US sent its troops that were met by a deeply united nationalist society with a Communist cause and great hatred for the US intervention. Political ideals that guided the main actors in the war The US felt that if one nation in Southeast Asia ‘fell to communism,' there was an increased likelihood that the entire region would fall to the same kind of regime sooner or later. As a result, the ripple effects of this regime would influence the entire Asia-Pacific World. The idea informed Eisenhower's around the US foreign relations within the region. Furthermore, it informed the policymaking of Eisenhower's predecessors like Lyndon Johnson and John Kennedy (Kaiser, 2000). According to Kennedy, Americans were ready to ‘pay any price and bear any burden' in the bid to support the democratization of countries in Southeast Asia like Vietnam as a way of countering communist advance in the region. During his reign as President, America escalated its war efforts in Vietnam which started with the resolution of the Gulf of Tonkin which authorized the use of the military without necessarily declaring war (Kaiser, 2000). On the side of the US, the Vietnam War was facilitated by various courses such as the Cold War, Communism, and the concerns regarding credibility. Regarding American credibility, Kennedy argued that if America did not protect the free nations in Asia aggressively, China would come into the picture and dominate the region. In this context, Kennedy believed that the US had an obligation of building and supporting the non-communist governments in Asia (Kaiser, 2000). He indicated that these countries represented the ‘cornerstone of the free world' in the region. On the similar note, the US wanted to show that it was still a superpower and had great influence globally. On the other hand, when Johnson took power, he came with different concerns regarding credibility. He ascribed to the concept of the domino theory. Therefore, he believed that the problems of South Vietnam arose due to communist aggression from the North (Kaiser, 2000). In this context, Johnson believed that South Vietnam needed to fight for itself with advice and aid from the American government. The region was also significant to not only the countries from the West but also to countries from the Middle East. According to McNamara, a victory for Hanoi in the war would place the country much closer to the control of the Chinese. As a result, the whole of the Southeast region would be endangered. McNamara argued that defending South Vietnam would be critical in defending Southeast Asia (McMaster & Williams, 1997). The region was important to the US because if it were in the hand of the communists, it would prove a serious security risk to the security of America and that of its aides. Furthermore, it was a test case for the US to show the world that it could be able to meet the global challenges of the communists in fighting for ‘liberation.' On the same note of credibility, in its efforts to court more allies, the Americans had the responsibility to prove that their pronouncements regarding supporting a non-communist government in the bid to contain communism and aid the building of democracy were credible. As a result, most of the American President's from Truman to Johnson greatly worried about the credibility of the US in the international scale (McMaster & Williams, 1997). In this regard, the Truman administration issued an NSC 68 paper which described the Soviet Union as a ‘union animated by new fanatic faith' which was determined to impose its power ‘over the rest of the world.' The document contended that the US needed to embark on ‘a massive buildup of conventional and nuclear weapons' so that it could be able to protect itself and its allies. On the other hand, President Eisenhower considered authorizing military action including possible nuclear strikes in the bid to support the French that was trapped in Dien Bien Phu. However, the Congress protested the decision stating tha...