American Involvement During The Vietnam War

James McCann
American Involvement in Vietnam The Vietnam War was one of the longest, and most costly armed conflicts in American history. The North Vietnamese and its southern supporters, known as the Vietcong, sought to overthrow the South and create one unified, communist state of Vietnam. This goal pitted the United States and South Vietnam against the communist regime, and the US maintained a military and economic presence in the country for almost 25 years. The increased American presence in Vietnam was primarily caused by United States foreign policy officials asserting the right to intervene globally in order to protect national interests, coupled with the widespread anti-communist sentiments of the time period. This policy of containment
While the two were allies during the war, its end exposed the countries’ ideological differences, and the two quickly became enemies. The differences between American and Soviet goals were evident even before the end of the war, but became even more apparent when multiple pro-Soviet coups took place in Europe over the course of a few years. In 1947, when communist insurgents threatened to take over Turkey and Greece, England was financially exhausted, and could not provide support for the nations. In a speech before Congress, president Harry S. Truman asked for 400 million dollars in order to aid the two countries. He said, “I believe it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures.” This statement became known as the Truman Doctrine, and paved the way for a larger policy known as “containment.” This policy made it clear that the US would not purposely start a war with the Soviet Union, but it would defend other countries at risk of Soviet annexation. While America was not directly involved in Vietnam during the Truman administration, the ideals of his presidency carried into the following years, and fueled the subsequent actions of foreign policy officials following his
During this year, all of the parties involved met in Geneva, Switzerland and drafted the Geneva Accords. This document officially divided the nation into North Vietnam, which was controlled by Communist forces, and South Vietnam- which was ruled by democracy. The Accords also held that the division was supposed to be temporary, and that in two-years time, elections would be held to determine who would rule a newly unified Vietnam. However, these elections never took place; instead, the United States sabotaged the agreement. With Ho Chi Minh’s popularity growing, the US was positive that he would win the election, so the government allied themselves with Ngo Dinh Diem, a South Vietnamese leader. Rather than supporting Bao Dai, the French installed emperor, the US helped Diem oust Dai, because they believed he was too weak to rule a country. Then, in attempts to induce a Communist response that the South Vietnamese could condemn, the CIA organized raids across the border of the two halves of the nation. When the North Vietnamese did respond, Diem then declared the South an independent country and refused to participate in the agreed-upon elections. Then, as intended, the United States formed the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) with France, Britain, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand to provide defence for South Vietnam against