Vietnam+War

Background: - France tried to retake Indochina after losing it to Japanese invaders in WWII. - Vietnamese resisted for independence under the communist leader, Ho Chi Minh. - Truman administration gave U.S. military aid to the French, but Eisenhower refused to send in troops. - At Geneva Conference of 1954, France agreed to give up Indochina, forming independent nations of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. - Vietnam was divided at 17th parallel; North Vietnam established a Communist dictatorship under Ho Chi Minh, Ngo Dinh Diem established anticommunist government in South Vietnam. - U.S. gave economic and military aid to South Vietnam to build a stable anticommunist state.

Kennedy Administration: - Determined to "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty."(1) - Declared Diem "Winston Churchill of Asia"(2) - South Vietnamese military remained poor due to bad leadership, corruption, etc. - The Strategic Hamlet Program (initiated in 1961), aimed to fortify rural villages, isolating them from Viet Cong. The program ultimately failed due to infiltrated Viet Cong and resentment from villagers. - Seeing Diem as incompetence, a coup was initiated to remove Diem regime. The U.S. support was split between Diem and the coup. In 1963, with the knowledge of Kennedy administration, Diem was assassinated along with his brother. Chaos ensued the event of the coup, bringing greater political instability to South Vietnam.

Johnson Administration Gulf of Tonkin Incident: - A naval battle between a U.S. destroyer and North Vietnamese Navy's torpedo boats. - President Johnson made used of the incident to gain congress authorization to send conventional military to Vietnam - Congress passed the Tonkin Resolution, which allowed the president to take "all necessary measures" for U.S. interest in Vietnam. - It was unclear whether there was an attack. The incident was cited as the way Johnson gained public support for his foreign policy. Tet Offensive: - NVA initiated a surprise attack during Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays, attacking over 100 cities. - US and South Vietnamese forces were able to respond quickly and effectively, destroying NVA attacks. The operation was acknowledge as a failure by the North Vietnamese after the war. - However, it has major political impact on America. It destroyed Johnson's public support by contradicting the claim of progress made by the Johnson administration.

Nixon Administration Vietnamization: - With fierce public opposition, Nixon began troop withdrawal. - Nixon Doctrine: to build up South Vietnamese military to take over the combat. - Nixon pursued détente with Soviet Union and People's Republic of China to reduce the tension of the Cold War. Unfortunately, Soviet Union and China continued to supply North Vietnam.

Paris Peace Accords: - With Saigon and Hanoi demanding changes to the negotiation, Nixon ordered Operation Linebacker II, a massive bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong 18–29 December 1972, destroying much of the remaining economic and industrial capacity of North Vietnam. Simultaneously Nixon pressured Thieu to accept the terms of the agreement, threatening to cut off American aid. - On 15 January 1973, Nixon announced the suspension of offensive action against North Vietnam. The Paris Peace Accords on "Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam" were signed on 27 January 1973, officially ending direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. A cease-fire was declared across North and South Vietnam.

Aftermath: - North Vietnam quickly defeated South Vietnam with the absence of U.S. forces, declaring victory on April 30, 1975. Vietnam is unified under Communist leadership. - The war was the first failure of U.S. to achieve its military objective. Many considers it the first U.S. defeat of war.

Sources: AMSCO - United States History Kaplan's AP Review for U.S. History (1) The Avalon Project at Yale Law School. //[|Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy]// (2) Karnow 1991, p. 267

Ho Chi Minh portrait - [] Vietnam map - [|http://www.partireper.it/hicsuntleones/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/3207829.jpg]