Effects of Vietnam Flashcards
How many died total from the war?
58,220
How many were wounded from the war?
300,000
Why were there so many wounded but not so many dead?
- NVA strategy was to wound, not to kill
- the treatments were improved in Field Hospitals
Where is the Vietnam War Memorial?
Washington, DC
How many POWs or MIAs were left in Vietnam?
2300
What has been done to try to get the POWs back?
Many have flown planes back to try to find them
What are some theories of what happened to the POWs?
- Some have killed themselves
- Some have been used by Vietnam to fight remainder of war
What is the biggest political question for all future wars after Vietnam?
Is this another Vietnam?
Why is examining each war so carefully important relating to Vietnam?
If we put American lives in harm’s way, do we go into a war with no plan, and do we risk losing again in a meaningless war with a tough exit as well?
What were some of the debatable wars in that could be another Vietnam?
- Persian Gulf
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Bosnia
- Somalia
- Panama
Why did we go into the Persian Gulf war?
Iraq attacked Kuwait for oil, we went in and drove Iraq out of Kuwait
What was our conflict for the Persian Gulf War?
Whether to keep going to Baghdad and target Saddam Hussein or to stop and know we achieved our goal.
Why did we go into Somalia?
There were war lords controlling supply of people of Somalia.
What was our conflict in Somalia?
We went in, but were getting killed, should we pul out or not?
Who was President during Somalia and what was his decision?
Clinton-he pulled us out because we should not fight and risk lives in a meaningless war there.
How was our government perceived after Vietnam?
not trustworthy
What were some other government scandals around Vietnam that caused some distrust?
- Pentagon Papers
- Watergate
- Future Presidential Scandals
When was the War Powers Act passed?
1973
What were the war powers circumstances before the War Powers Act?
Congress surrendered lots of power to President under Tonkin as President had all power
What did the War Powers Act do?
The Congress can put limits on the President’s war powers
What is the only circumstance the President can send forces somewhere without a Declaration of War?
If there is a major foreign policy crisis in the world that relates to us.
What are the limits to immediate committal of forces by the President?
- can commit them for 60 days
- must tell Congress within 48 hours
After the 60 days are up, what are the President’s options for the forces?
- withdraw
- get a Declaration of War from Congress
- acquire more military money with Congress approval
How long would the President have to withdraw after the 60 days are up?
30 days
Describe Communist Vietnam.
- based on Chinese Communism
- totalitarian government
- more private business ownership
How many Vietnamese were killed after the fall of Saigon?
165,000
What else happened to some other Vietnamese people after the fall of the south?
1 million people were sent to education programs to learn Communsim
What happens to Saigon after its fall?
It is renamed Ho Chi Minh City
Is Hanoi still the capital?
Yes
What was the refugee crisis after the war?
The Boat People
What happened with the Boat People?
About 2M Vietnamese want to get out and we could not take them with Operation Frequent Wind, they would go on anything that could float into the South China Sea and hope someone would take them and ask for political asylum.
What happened to many of the Boat People?
Many were robbed by pirates and the pirates sunk them.
Why were there many pirates sinking the refugees?
We left many armed ships there and they could have gone out to get them back into the Communist nation.
What happened to Laos?
It fell to Communism with the Pathet Lao
What happened to Cambodia?
It fell to Communism with the Khmer Rouge
What do the Khmer Rouge do when they are in power?
A Genocide starts
What is the Cambodian genocide called?
The Killing Fields
Who did the Cambodian genocide target?
All intellectuals
Why did the Khmer Rouge kill all intellectuals?
They were smart enough to protest and possibly stop the Communism.
How many people were killed in the Killing Fields?
2 million
Who led the Killing Fields?
Pol Pot
What happened to the dead bodies from Cambodia?
- all skulls were kept
- bones were in big piles
- bullets in the back of the skulls’ head
After the fall of the South, what happened to US-Vietnam relations?
We cutoff all relations in 1975
When did we reopen diplomatic relations with Vietnam? What do we do now with them?
1994-we trade with them, some Veterans have gone back
What were the effects of Agent Orange?
- many soldiers have cancer and are in hospitals
- parts of landscape have not been fixed
What is the mental traumatic stress disorder for Vietnam Veterans?
PTSD
What does PTSD relate to?
Soldiers who saw killings in Vietnam and flashback to them in real life.
Why did many Veterans have flashbacks from the war?
The mental drain was more intense because of how risky every step was because of all the mines and traps of guerrilla warfare.
What happened to the draft dodgers who fled to Canada?
- In 1977, Jimmy Carter gave them amnesty to come back
- Less than half came back to America
Why did Carter give pardon to the Canadian refugees?
He was a veteran and felt their anger
What happened to Drug Culture after the war?
The openness of drug taking increased since before
What was the economic recession we dealt with after the war?
An Inflationary Trend
Describe why we had this post-war Inflationary Trend.
Our government is doing 2 big ticket items-Great Society spent billions as did the war, Vietnam adds $150B to our debt
