US Involvement In The Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, the U.S. had sent over millions of troops and billions of American tax dollars to fund a fight against an unknown enemy that they had never declared war against. Driven by Cold War fears and false assumptions, the U.S. dove into a war that it knew nothing about. However, in the end, the U.S.’ efforts were fruitless as millions of lives were lost and the public lost trust in their government. American involvement in the Vietnam War has long been a controversial and dark segment of the history of the United States. The Vietnam War was a lie of American democracy and an excuse to spread anti-communist hate. Fear was used to justify involvement in Vietnam, through various American foreign policies. According to the article
Government. American troops in Vietnam were also committing war crimes and atrocities throughout the duration of the Vietnam War. According to Ray (2003), “Although they encountered no resistance, the soldiers nonetheless killed indiscriminately. Over the next hour, groups of women, children, and elderly men were rounded up and shot at close range. U.S. soldiers also committed numerous rapes. Charlie Company’s 2nd Platoon moved north from the landing zone, killing dozens, while 3rd Platoon followed behind, destroying the hamlet’s remaining buildings and shooting survivors.” The My Lai Massacre was one of the many incidents during the Vietnam War of U.S. troops murdering innocent civilians and committing war crimes. This was the result of the U.S. sending in young men to fight unknown enemies. Unlike previous wars, the Vietcong didn’t have uniforms or anything that would identify them as enemies. Therefore many in higher ranking officers would allow their troops to indiscriminately fire at civilians, even if they were women, children, or the elderly. Many American and South Vietnamese troops were responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent civilians in Vietnam. In addition, Spector (2017) noted that “by 1970 signs of serious problems in morale and leadership were seemingly everywhere. These signs included increased drug abuse, more frequent and
It was mainly during President Johnson’s and President Nixon’s administrations that made promises of the war coming to close were proclaimed. However, these were just lies to keep public support on their side and gain reelection for another term. According to the article Lyndon B. Johnson (2011), “As each new American escalation met with fresh enemy response and as no end to the combat appeared in sight, the president’s public support declined steeply. American casualties gradually mounted, reaching nearly 500 a week by the end of 1967. Moreover, the enormous financial cost of the war, reaching $25 billion in 1967, diverted money from Johnson’s cherished Great Society programs and began to fuel inflation.” Not only did President Johnson continue to pour in resources into Vietnam despite mounting American casualties, he kept pushing despite the pressure the war was putting on the economy. He was blatantly lying to the American public about the status of war while diverting funds from public programs. President Nixon made similar promises and attempted to withdraw troops from Vietnam, however it was ineffective. According to the article Richard Nixon (2017), “Under his policy of “Vietnamization,” combat roles were transferred to South Vietnamese troops, who nevertheless remained heavily dependent on American supplies and