Should The Vietnam War Have Been Avoided

The Vietnam War is our country’s second longest military conflict ever, starting in 1961 and ending officially in 1975. In terms of total American casualties, it ranks fourth in our history, following the American Civil War and both World Wars, with over 58,000 brave lives sacrificed. But all of the blood, sweat, and tears our nation shed during those 14 years could have been avoided. I believe that the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War could have been easily prevented, and in turn, would have saved thousands of U.S. troop lives.

The Truman Doctrine was officially passed in March 1947, when the President at that time, Harry S. Truman, announced he would support any other nation under communist oppression. Eight years later, President
Dwight D. Eisenhower pledged his full support to South Vietnam if they came under any attack from communism. South Vietnam soon came under communist attacks from the North in 1959. By the end of 1964, 23,000 U.S. military advisors had occupied South Vietnam. The United States first officially entered the Vietnam War in March 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent the first combat troops to aid South Vietnam in their fight. By 1966, over 200,000 American soldiers were stationed in Vietnam. And by the end of the war, over 58,000 American troops were killed.

In 1964, North Vietnamese torpedo boats had attacked U.S.
naval ships for being too close to their coastal waters and attacked in fear of an invasion. However, the President saw this as an attack on our country, and signed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. which allowed him to take “any measures necessary” on fighting communist forces. The following bombing raids on Vietnam provoked their armies, and thus, the U.S. had officially entered the war. But I believe if the U.S. had first contacted the North Vietnamese and had a formal conversation with diplomats before engaging in war, it could have been prevented entirely. Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, who played a great role in the Vietnam War, also believes the war could have been avoided. He believes that the Domino Theory had been exaggerated and that he didn’t believe a unified Vietnam would have allowed a communist China or Soviet Union to set up military bases in their country. Our ships had no business in being so close to Vietnam coasts in the Gulf of Tonkin, so the North Vietnamese were justified in their actions. The U.S. had no place in a country’s own civil
war.

In order to avoid another military conflict such as Vietnam, our country needs to ensure that all dangers that are seemingly present must either be confirmed or disproved, such as if a nation is rumored to hold military bases or sites for another nation.
And if another country is in a war of which no side poses a threat to us, the U.S. should just leave the fighting to the people that want to fight. Going into a war with one side may leave the other side no choice but to officially declare war on us, even if the initial war ends. Even after the initial war, the opposing country we fought against may hold a grudge and attack the United States. Which could have been easily avoided if we simply didn’t enter in the first place. The government could also hold polls, that can easily tally up the civilian vote on whether or not the citizens of America would support a war that could
occur.

So in conclusion, I believe the Vietnam War could have been prevented, and at the least, have been terminated much earlier than it really was. Our country really had no reason to enter the war, other than the fear that a communist country would influence other countries to become communist. But even then, the Domino Theory was admittedly exaggerated by the government. The U.S cannot allow another war like this to occur, and for that to happen, we must ensure all threats to our country have been confirmed, and get input from the entire nation, not just the government, in order to decide if war is the best option against the threat. In doing so, America could save thousands, if not millions, of lives by avoiding a war such as Vietnam.