(11) Conflict in Asia: Vietnam Flashcards
What was Dien Bien Phu, when was it, and why was it significant in increasing tensions?
✩ The Battle of Dien Bien Phu holds great significance in French and Vietnamese history as it was a turning point for both countries.
✩ The French were forced to surrender and leave Vietnam during the Indochina War, ending French Colonial rule in Vietnam and ultimately causing the split of Vietnam into two countries.
✩ According to US’ Domino Theory, Vietnam’s victory in Dien Bien Phu suggested that communism would quickly spread into nearby states. This pushed the United States to support a non-communist dictator in South Vietnam.
What was The Geneva Conference, when was it, and why was it significant in increasing tensions?
✩ France sought a withdrawal from Indochina with dignity. A ceasefire was agreed, and Vietnam was temporarily divided along the 17th Parallel until elections were held within the next two years.
✩ The north was to be run by Ho and the south under the emperor Bao Dai, although real power lay with Ngo Dinh Diem as from 1954.
When did Kennedy become president?
✩ Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President of the United States on January 20, 1961.
Why did Kennedy become involved in Vietnam?
✩ Kennedy was Catholic and opposed communist atheism.
✩ Kennedy subscribed to the domino theory and added the aim of halting communism.
✩ Kennedy was inexperienced and relied upon his advisers, Robert McNamara (Secretary of Defence) and Dean Rusk (Secretary of State), who were ‘hawks’.
What had been Kennedy’s aims and methods?
✩ As Senator, Kennedy, like Eisenhower, had opposed the 1954 Geneva agreement’s provision for elections in Vietnam. Both knew that Ho would win which was unacceptable.
✩ Kennedy opposed committing US troops, but he increased the number of Military advisers from 800 to 16,000 with the ‘Military Assistance Command, Vietnam’ (MACV) to supervise them.
What was the Strategic Hamlet Programme, and when did it happen?
✩ From 1962, the Americans encouraged Diem to introduce ‘Strategic Hamlets’. These were fortified villages where Vietnamese peasants could theoretically be isolated from the Viet Cong.
✩ The hamlets were unpopular, recruited more support for the VC and the majority were destroyed by 1963
When was Diem assassinated?
✩ Diem was assassinated on 2 November 1963 with encouragement from Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge who believed Diem was an obstacle to victory.
✩ Lodge publicly denied US involvement.
Why was Diem assassinated?
✩ One reason for this was because Diem refused to implement reforms.
✩ His repression of Buddhists prompted a 73-year-old Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc, to set himself alight in protest in 1963, thus alarming the Americans.
✩ Moreover, Diem’s First Lady, Madame Nhu, promoted unpopular legislation including the banning of boxing matches, causing popular disinterest and alienation within the South Vietnamese.
Who was Diem?
✩ Diem served during the French administration of the 1930s. In 1954, Diem returned at Bao Dai’s request to serve as Prime Minister of a US-backed Government.
✩ Diem defeated and ousted Bao Dai after a government-controlled referendum in 1955 and made himself President of South Vietnam, ruling through corruption and nepotism.
Why was Diem hated in South Vietnam?
✩ Diem had very little support in the South of Vietnam due to his style of government.
✩ He used nepotism to rule which involving giving jobs within government to his family members.
✩ Diem was corrupt; he received large sums of money from the US government as did his family and government officials.
✩ Diem also used violent repression to those who opposed his religious and political ideologies.
How did Diem still maintain his regime despite this opposition?
✩ The support from the US helped Diem to stay in power despite feelings of growing resentment towards him.
✩ ‘Shit, Diem’s the only boy we got out there.’ as Johnson says, shows desperation to maintain control over South Vietnam
✩ According to Stephen Kinzer (2006), Diem outlasted two attempted coups by paying off rebels using $12 million, given to him by the CIA, showing the extent to which the South Vietnamese hated him.
Who was Ho Chi Minh?
✩ Ho Chi Minh led the Vietminh which he formed in 1941 and became leader of North Vietnam from 1954.
✩ He was attracted to communism because of its anti-imperialism.
✩ From 1957, Ho’s supporters in South Vietnam undertook guerilla activities to destabilise Diem’s Government
✩ They became Known as the National Liberation Front (NLF) which Diem referred to as the Viet Cong (VC).
What was the National Liberation Front?
✩ National Liberation Front (NLF) was set up in 1960 by North Vietnam so that it could free the South from ‘US imperialism’.
✩ The NLF promoted the unification of Vietnam and the idea that Vietnam should be a socialist state.
✩ It had been deemed as the ‘Vietcong’ by Diem and the USA.
