Deter Communism From Vietnam example essay topic

War? What is it good for? Why did the United States go to war in Vietnam? These questions remain open. Why did the U.S. feel that they needed to get involved with a war that did not involve them directly? Didn't America's first president warn us of entangling alliances?

There are many different reasons for our motivation for war. I think that the most important is anti-communism, domino theory, Eisenhower administration, and the United States arrogance of power. George Herring believes that our conflict with Vietnam found its roots in the Cold War. He says, "U.S. involvement in Vietnam stemmed from the interaction of two major phenomena of the post-World War II era: decolonization- the breakup of the old colonial empire- and the Cold War" (460). He thinks that we always had communism in the back of our minds and any decisions we were making could potentially affect the future of communism. The United States knew the importance of communism and would not let it have its day.

Herring also says, .".. a zero-sum game in which any gain for communism was automatically a loss for the United States, areas such as Vietnam, which had been of no more than marginal importance suddenly took a great significance" (460). That goes to show you the significance the Cold War had on our policy makers. Along the lines of the Cold War runs the domino effect. Herring states, "The first, usually called the 'domino theory,' was the idea that the fall of Vietnam could cause the fall of Indochina and then the rest of Southeast Asia, with repercussions extending west to India and east to Japan and the Philippines" (461). He believes that the President and his advisors thought Vietnam to be the pivotal place for the determination of communism. If the United States could deter communism from Vietnam then we would have no other problems in Indochina.

He also says", Vietnam was considered the most important-'the keystone in the arch,' as senator John F. Kennedy put it... If it fell, all of Southeast Asia might be lost, costing the United States access to vital raw materials and strategic bases. Primarily for this reason, the United States went to the aid of France in 1950, despite its compunctions about supporting colonialism, and it stepped into the breach when France was defeated in 1954" (461). Another reason for the United States to be in conflict with Vietnam would have to be our arrogance of power.

The United States needs to be on top of everything, they wanted to shape the way that the world views them. Herring says, "The United States must stand firm in Vietnam to demonstrate its determination to defend vital interests across the world... If they showed firmness, it might deter Soviet or Chinese aggression; if they showed weakness, the adversary would be tempted to take steps that might ultimately leave no option but nuclear war" (461). He tells us of the importance the United States felt when dealing with overwhelming power. All of these areas have an influence on why The U.S. decided to go to war in Vietnam and they will have a lasting effect on the United States. The other author also has his own opinions as to why we went to war in Vietnam.

Kolko understands the importance of communism but he focuses more on the fact that the United States was on a quest to establish capitalist and democratic world order. He says, "This task in fact far transcended that of dealing with the USSR, which had not produced the world upheaval but was itself an outcome of the first stage of the protracted crisis of the European and colonial system that had begun in 1914, even though the United States always held Moscow culpable to a critical extent for many obstacles it was to confront: (468). He did not feel that communism had a key role in the development of the conflict in Vietnam. He felt that the United States' will to push capitalism and democracy on the rest of the world made them hostile and Third World countries they would have nowhere to go for help other than communism. In terms of the domino theory, Kolko felt that if we lost all of Indochina, we would lose the rest of the world. He says, "The loss of Indochina... would have critical psychological, political, and economic consequences... the loss of any single country would probably lead to relatively swift submission to or an alignment with communism by the remaining countries... an alignment with communism of the rest of Southeast Asia and India, and in the longer term, of the Middle East, would in all probability progressively follow" (469).

The domino effect confronted the credibility of the United States power and if the U.S. did not succeed, we would not have the ultimate power that we had. All of these factors influenced the decision to get involved in the war in Vietnam. In my opinion, the United States has its roots in democracy and capitalism. I agree with Herring when he discusses the roots for the war in Vietnam focusing on communism. The United States will go to all ends to defend their free country and the ideals that they up hold. They get threatened by a government that goes against their ideals and that is exactly what communism is.

The U.S. is afraid of communism. They are scared of the effect that it could potentially have on the rest of the world. They feel that if we let it spread that it could wipe us out completely. I believe that communism is the foundation for the war with Vietnam but I agree with Herring on this issue. We always had that idea on the back of our minds and it influenced the decisions that we made.

Kolko does not take anti-communism seriously enough because it had a major influence. He directs his attention to the democratic and capitalist issue but you can't ignore the fact that the United States was always on guard when it came to communism. In terms of the domino theory, the importance is very significant and has its foundation is communism. The United States felt that if we let any part of Indochina be taken over by communism that it would spread all over the place and we would not be able to contain it. The United States would not be able to control the containment of communism and according to NC-168, which was their entire objective.

Congress ends up granting Johnson the power to use any means necessary to thwart communism. If we did not rid Indochina of communism the United States people to communism, they would also lose materials and the goods that we imported and exported because we only run on a free market economy. If we wanted to defend capitalism and a free economy, conflict seemed inevitable. Another reason that we went to war has to do with our ignorance as hegemony.

During Johnson's speech he says that", The world as it is in Asia is not a serene or peaceful place. The first reality is that North Vietnam has attacked the independent nation of South Vietnam. Its object is total conquest" (450). As the most powerful nation in the world we can go in and help reorganize a nation to fit with our standards and to also kick some benefits back to us.

We also are involved with the Vietnam because of the Eisenhower administration. Johnson says, "We are there because we have a promise to keep. Since 1954 every American President has offered support to the people of South Viet-Nam. We have helped to build, and we have helped to defend.

Thus over many years, we have made a national pledge to help South Viet-Nam defend its independence. And I intent to keep that promise" (450). Because of our ignorance and arrogance we go to war with Vietnam. We need to be that powerful nation and as Kolko says, we need to prove our credibility and we find that opportunity in Vietnam.

Communism, the domino theory, and the United States arrogance of power, force us to go to war with Vietnam.