Final US East Asia

Question 1

US Seventh Fleet

Answer 1

• Truman deployed the fleet to act as a buffer between Taiwan and the PRC in 1950.
• Mao cancels invasion of Taiwan as a result.

Question 2

Geneva Conference/Agreement 1954

Answer 2

• China’s presence at the table reflected its newfound great-nation status.
• Terms: a division of the country at the 17th parallel; massive migration of anti-communist Vietnamese from North to South (one million); French forces withdraw from Vietnam; the US supplant the French in political assurance to the South Vietnamese government.

Question 3

ASEAN (May 1967)

Answer 3

• Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
• Established in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
• For the first time, Southeast Asian nations were creating institutions to develop their region while excluding unwanted outside involvement.
• Its purpose was twofold to accelerate economic interchange, but keep uninvited great powers (including China and the United States) out of Southeast Asian affairs.

Question 4

1964 US presidential election

Answer 4

32

Question 5

Konfrontasi (1963-1966)

Answer 5

• Indonesia + Malaysian “confrontation”
• Sukarno launched low level military campaigns against Malaysia.
• Indo troops vs. Malay/British troops.
• Indonesia opposed creation of Malaysia
  Mostly a border dispute, occurring in the island of Borneo.
• Sukarno alarms the US with his increasing radicalization.

Question 6

Tet Offensive (1968)

Answer 6

• Le Duan’s offensive in January of 1968, meant to finish off the United States’ presence in South Vietnam.
• Massive investment of manpower and resources for NVM.
• Launched during Tet, or lunar year holiday.
• Meant to conquer major urban centers in South Vietnam, part of Le Duan’s major “General Uprising” strategy.
• The Siege of Khe Sanh in Northern South Vietnam was a feint meant to draw away US troops from Southern South Vietnam; the full weight of NVM forces were thrown against Saigon and provincial centers in South Vietnam.
• Massive material loss and strategic setback for Le Duan; however, it was a fatal blow against LBJ’s presidency.
• LBJ lost public and private confidence in his leadership of the Vietnam War.
• Decides not to seek re-election.
  Spurs anti-war protests in the US.

Question 7

Paris Peace Agreement (1973)

Answer 7

• Signed between representatives of Saigon, Hanoi, Washington, and the NLF’s provisional government.
• Kissinger instrumental in securing these talks by meeting with delegates of SVM and NVM.
• US aid to South Vietnam continues AFTER Paris Peace Agreement.

Question 8

Viet Minh

Answer 8

• Created by Ho Chi Minh, they were the armed forces who served the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
• Initially, they fought the French and their client regimes in Vietnam using guerilla style tactics.
• They were responsible for the massive defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu, which marked a turning point in the French Indochina War and the French’s appetite for conflict over this particular colonial possession.
• This massive victory was followed by unilateral concessions by France at the Geneva Convention, and the subsequent retreat from Vietnam.
• General Vo Nguyen Giap was an important leader of the Viet Minh.

Question 9

General Douglas MacArthur

Answer 9

• 1945-1952.
• Supreme Commander for the Allied Forces (SCAP).
• Period of US occupation of Japan post-WWII, initial aims for demilitarization.
• A blued eyed Shogun dominated policy within Japan.
• His goal was to transform Japan in to the Switzerland of the Pacific.
• Decided that US had to democratize Japan since US didn’t want Japan to become a communist nation.
• MacArthur would redistribute land in Japan from 1947-1949 from wealthy landlords to give to peasants and farmers (ironically, US didn’t agree when Asian nations did this themselves).

Question 10

Suharto

Answer 10

45

Question 11

Joseph Stilwell

Answer 11

• Lt. General Joseph “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell
• Advisor to China; hated Chiang Kai-Shek.
• Called him “Little Peanut” and “gasping, bigoted, and ungrateful little Rattlesnake”.
• Recalled from China after too many disagreements with Chiang Kai-Shek
  Replaced by General Hurley

Question 12

Chinese Military Advisory Group (CMAG)

Answer 12

• Operating in Northern Vietnam, they assisted Vietnamese forces against the French
• Functioned to offset American assistance to French forces.
• Bigger theme: Mao building up Vietnamese military and reputation as a faithful communist player on the world stage.

Question 13

SEATO (1955)

Answer 13

• A part of Eisenhower’s frantic pact-making phase, the Southeast Asia Treaty.
• Organization consisted of Thailand, the Philippines, France, Britain, Australian, New Zealand, and the United States.
• SEATO vaguely pledged to defend Vietnam.

Question 14

Vietnamization

Answer 14

• First emerged as LBJ’s post-Tet reappraisal of the war, Nixon wholly adopted it.
• Nixon’s policy of “returning Vietnam back to the Vietnamese!”
• Withdrawal from Vietnam.
• Because South Vietnam’s military was so strong (reaching over 1 million at one point), the US pullout could be justified.
• Troops dramatically reduced under Nixon as part of Vietnamization.
• Negotiations with North Vietnam a part of the overall strategy as well.

Question 15

William Westmoreland

Answer 15

• Commander of Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV).
• Ordered US troops to go on search and destroy missions vs. enclave defense; a radical shift in tactics.
• Advocated for huge troop surges to Vietnam.
• Functioned as part of the executive’s branch’s overreach in power.

Question 16

Nixon Doctrine

Answer 16

• Also referred to as the Guam doctrine, because it was presented by president Nixon in Guam on July 25, 1969 at the beginning of Nixon’s Global Tour.
• Was brought up, first, as an informal announcement to the press.
  Nixon states that the US can no longer aid its allies fully. However, makes it clear that if any US allies are under nuclear threat, they would have the US’s nuclear arsenal as a shield.

Question 17

Inchon Landing/Attack

Answer 17

• September 1950, on the eve of congressional elections.
• Amphibious attack and battle during the Korean War, orchestrated by General Douglas MacArthur.
• The landing was very tricky because the tides at Inchon made it only navigable for one day out of a month for a few hours.
• Against all odds, MacArthur is successful in pushing back North Korean troops across the 38th parallel.
• MacArthur proclaims that US troops will be home for Christmas, he’s untouchable and wants to take more of the Korean peninsula.

Question 18

Zaibatsu

Answer 18

• Japanese industrial conglomerates (old industrial-banking system) that had earlier enjoyed an economic oligopoly and worked hand in glove with the military.
  Root of Japan’s imperialism.
• General MacArthur decentralized political functions under the 1947 Local Autonomy Law and apply U.S. antitrust measures to strangle the zaibatsu.
• The 466 commercial banks of 1935 had merged in 186 by 1941 and only 53 in 1945.
• In early 1947, SCAP ordered the breakup of the most powerful zaibatsu, including Mitsui and Mitsubishi.
• Assets were taken from them by SCAP leaving them with no power.
• Aims (breakup 300).
• 1949 results: broke up (less than 20).
• Results of Zaibatsu collapse: labor strengthened (industrial labor and peasant based on model in the U.S.).
• Redistribution of land (countryside had to be assessed in land, they were rented by farmers not owned 50% of the labor force) absentee landlords.

Question 19

The Japanese “Miracle”

Answer 19

• “Gift from the Gods” the Korean war assisted in rebuilding the Japanese economy.
• Japan because essential to the geostrategic posture of American forces in East Asia.
• Okinawa becomes neocolonial base for American forces.
• American focus on Korea allowed Japan to take autonomous decisions for itself, also easing dependency on the US.
• It created an intelligence gathering group, the Cabinet Research Office, and restored rights to former military officials.

Question 20

Theory of People’s War

Answer 20

• Mao’s 3 stage process of completing a revolutionary struggle:
  Stage 1: Defensive (hide in countryside, attack guerilla style).
  Stage 2: Equilibrium or limited offensive (shift from defensive posture, target less fortified towns).
  Stage 3: Final offensive (when attrition warfare has eroded the enemy’s strength, attack boldly, targeting heavily fortified enemy strongholds in an effect to crush resistance… final stage of war).
• Utilized by the Viet Minh/Viet Cong in Vietnam against the French and Americans.

Question 21

Zbigniew Brzezinski

Answer 21

• Served as National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter from 1977-1981.
• Played a large role in the normalization of relations with the People’s Republic of China as well as the severance of ties with Taiwan.
• In his exchanges with China, he was reported to have advised China to support the genocidal dictator Pol Pot in Cambodia.

Question 22

Article IX of the Japanese Constitution

Answer 22

• Issued in the Emperor’s name, was made public in November 1946 and became law on May 1947.
• Powerful member of the Diet, Ashida Hitoshi, wrote Article IX.
  - Renounced war as an instrument of national policy and stated that Japan would not maintain armed forces.
  - The emperor was reduced from a virtual god-king to a living symbol of the nation.
  - The power of the industrial barons and rural landlords was diluted by the legalization of trade unions and the implementation of land reform.
  A program of American-style trustbusting began to dissolve the zaibatsu, the industrial conglomerates that had earlier enjoyed an economic oligopoly and worked hand in glove with the military.

Question 23

Henry Kissinger

Answer 23

• Secretary of State under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, principle foreign policy advisor.
• Hailed from Germany, beloved by Ivy Leagues.
• Shared Nixon’s worldview.
• Kissinger was against the Paris Peace Talks and Vietnamization.
• Kissinger was an essential actor in the Sino-American rapprochement, secretly flying to Beijing and setting up Nixon’s famed visit to China.

Question 24

Sino-Soviet split

Answer 24

• In March of 1969, there were bloody border disputes between China and the Soviet Union over Zhenbao Island on the Ussuri River.
• This causes China to strategically re-align themselves; Soviet Union is now considered the greatest enemy.
  Mao’s greatest fear: Soviet Union and Vietnam allied, surrounding China from North and South!
• This was an important development in the Cold War, because hostilities between the USSR and China ultimately pushed China into the US’s open arms (rapprochement).

Question 25

PKI (Communist Party of Indonesia)

Answer 25

44

Question 26

Kim Il Sung

Answer 26

20

Question 27

Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance 1950

Answer 27

• February 1950.
• Mao’s China and Stalin’s Soviet-Union Friendship and Alliance Treaty.
• Like all alliances, this one subordinated but did not eliminate differing priorities, interests, and even world views.
• Mao Zedong looked to the Soviet Union for support in building and securing a new China.
• A formal alliance that included a mutual security commitment and provided for a $300 million low- interest Soviet loan to jump- start China’s recovery from the ravages of war.
• During Mao’s visit to Stalin’s Soviet Union to establish the alliance he wasn’t impressed with visit “there were only 3 three things to do “Eat, Sleep, and Shit”.

Question 28

Philippine Independence

Answer 28

• June 1898: Aguinaldo announced Philippines independence / himself as president.
• July 4 1946 – US grants the Philippines independence.
• Ilustrado vs. Huks (Spanish-American Educated elite class of Filipinos vs regular working class soldier class) → in determining who will govern the country.
• Bell Trade Act → restrictive trade acts that bound Filipino produces to the American. market for the indefinite future → Economic freedom is curtailed.
• US retains bases: Subic Bay.

Question 29

Sukarno

Answer 29

25

Question 30

Domino Theory

Answer 30

• A term first proposed by President Eisenhower during the early days of the Cold War, it proposed that one country falling to communism could directly lead to a chain of countries doing the same thing.
• Therefore, it was in America’s best interest to combat communism globally; in particular, East Asia.
• The Domino Theory, combined with Truman’s NSC 68 policy paper, provided for the moral and economic means to wage the war of containment in East Asia.

Question 31

Malayan Emergency

Answer 31

• 1948-1960.
• A guerrilla war fought in the newly established Federation of Malaya between the Malayan National Liberation Army and Commonwealth forces.
• Lead to the independence of Malaysia.

Question 32

Bao Dai Solution

Answer 32

• A regime created by the French in the hopes of maintaining legitimacy and influence in Vietnam.
• Headed by Bao Dai, a figurehead emperor.
• US recognized Bao Dai regime.
• Working within the regime was Diem Ngo, who was nominated to Prime Minister by Bao Dai because of his appeal to the French and Americans.
• Bao Dai was eventually outmaneuvered and deposed by Diem.

Question 33

Syngman Rhee

Answer 33

19

Question 34

Dien Bien Phu

Answer 34

• Decisive battle between the Viet Minh and the occupying French military.
• The straw that broke the camel’s back-this battle finished off a crumbling the French colonial empire in East Asia.
• Architect of the Dien-bien-phu campaign was General Vo Nguyen Giap.
• Able to take a French military garrison on the eve of negotiate at Geneva that was supposed to solve not only the Korean War but also the French-Indochina War.

Question 35

San Francisco Peace Treaty (1951)

Answer 35

• Occurred in 1951 at the San Francisco Opera House, signed by 48 nations (not including Russia and China).
• Empire dismembered; Taiwan and Pescadore Islands back to China; Japan only consisted of homeland islands; protection of said islands would fall to the US; American base on Okinawa and military personnel stationed in Japan.

Question 36

Dixie Mission 1944-47

Answer 36

• 1944-1947.
• US mission to Yenan.
  - 3 year observation army group in Yenan to observe the Chinese Communist Headquarters.
  - Communists courted the US; boisterously celebrated the 4th of July.
  - Prelude to broader cooperation between US and Communists?
  - Clear that Communists would win fighting; said that the US should throw in with them.
  - Overall, very impressed with Mao and the Communist faction.

Question 37

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)

Answer 37

• LBJ’s congressional backing for increasing military actions in Vietnam after the Gulf of Tonkin incident; an open check for war versus Hanoi.
• LBJ brought faulty intelligence to congress on the August 2nd and 4th attacks.
• Part and parcel of LBJ’s imperial presidency, in which he bypassed public opinion on making war by using executive authority to wage war.

Question 38

Containment Theory

Answer 38

• George F. Kennan’s theory on the political and ideological containment of the USSR’s expansionist tendencies, especially as it pertained to Europe and industrial centers of power.
• Was meant to be a theoretical perspective on US-Soviet relations.
• Prioritized diplomacy and negotiations over military force and proxy wars.

Question 39

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Answer 39

• Was a network of roads built from communist led North Vietnam to South Vietnam, where there many other communist supporters, through its neighboring countries Laos & Cambodia.
• Provided logistical support to the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War. (Basically a military supply route)
• Was used during 1959 to 1975.
• North Vietnam at this point was known as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, where the South was referred to as the Republic of Vietnam.
• 1964-1973, 2.5 million tons of US bombing of Laos along the trail.
• Laos- most bombed country in history for its tiny size.

Question 40

Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP)

Answer 40

• General Douglas MacArthur’s was positioned as supreme commander in the southwestern Pacific and his political influence to ensure that he would preside over the remaking of Japan following World War Two.
• Dismantled the Japanese war machine and purge of Japanese political elites and bureaucrats.
• Led Japan to a democratic and egalitarian society based on small farmers, small merchants, shopkeepers, and handicraft workers. They acted on a faith that popular government encouraged and shaped by Americans would engender an immunity to the disease of militarism and imperialism.
• 1945 MacArthur’s office ordered their media not publish news on atomic bomb victims or damage. SCAP had strict control over all Japanese media.
• 1945 MacArthur focused on radically revising the Meiji Constitution to a new Japanese Constitution that reflects core ideas of the U.S. Constitution.

Question 41

Operation Menu (1969-1970)

Answer 41

• Covert American bombing campaign under Nixon’s presidency that was conducted in eastern Cambodia in 1969-1970.
• The main target was the Ho Chi Minh trail that was crucial for the supply routes for North Vietnamese war efforts.
• But this went against what Nixon publicly said about continuing LBJ’s ban on bombing north of the DMZ.
• This would be one of many examples in which Nixon’s presidency was largely characterized by deceit and “Madman Theory”.

Question 42

Dodge Mission (1949)

Answer 42

• 1949.
• Spearheaded by Detroit Banker Joseph M. Dodge.
• Goal: impose austerity in order to fix Japanese economy, move Japan to the right.
• Killed anti-zaibatsu program
  Persecuted communists, unions, and liberals.
• Japanese Red Purge.

Question 43

NSC-68

Answer 43

• April 1950.
• National Security Council policy paper drafted by Department of State and Department of Defense, presented to President Truman.
• Set the stage for militarization of the Cold War, allowed for large expansion of US military budget, development of hydrogen bomb, increased military aid to allies.
  - Went beyond what George Kennan was saying about the Soviet Union by claiming that Soviet Union had global reach and US couldn’t lose any ground in any corner of the world.
  - Architects of NCS 68 stated that US government can wage limited wars anywhere in the world if US interests are undermined.
  - Military budget should be tripled from 13 billion to 50 billion.

Question 44

Imperial Presidency

Answer 44

• The term “Imperial Presidency” represents the idea that the president has too much power in relation to Congress, exceeding constitutional limits.
• The Imperial Presidency played a large role in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, where the US became intensely involved without formal declarations of war.
• The War Powers Act was created in 1973 when news leaked of Nixon secretly bombing Cambodia during the Vietnam War.
  - The Act checks the president’s power by requiring a declaration of war by Congress in order for a President to send armed forces abroad.
• Nixon’s resignation in 1974 marked the temporary demise of the imperial presidency.
• “Vietnam Syndrome” - American public against US military involvement overseas.

Question 45

Le Duan

Answer 45

• The mastermind behind Hanoi’s war against the French, South Vietnam, and America.
• Called for the liberation of South Vietnam; orchestrated military campaigns in support of that goal.
• Top Vietnamese Workers Party official in South Vietnam.
• Spent hard time in prison for being a communist.
• Later, General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party (South Vietnam).
• Inspired by Mao’s 3-step strategy; implemented his own “General Offensive General Uprising” strategy which involved sending NVM troops to fight a conventional war in support of SVM insurgents.
• Received a blank check for war in the “1963 Resolution 9”, similar to LBJ’s Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Question 46

Sihanouk

Answer 46

• Prime Minister of Cambodia, caught between the communists and Americans.
• Clamped down internally on communists while publicly allying with Moscow, Beijing; severing ties with the US.
• Ousted after joint SVN/US operation into Cambodia, seeks patronage of Beijing
• Soviets and Vietnamese squabble over influence in Cambodia, and Sihanouk seeks refuge in China.

Question 47

Lyndon B. Johnson

Answer 47

• Vice President under President Kennedy, assumed office after Kennedy’s assassination.
• Served from 1963-1969 as president.
• Hubris, eccentric.
• Responsible for escalation of war in Vietnam.
  - Gulf of Tonkin incident - faulty information - Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
• One of the “imperial” presidents: undercut American checks and balances in order to commit American troops to war.
• Public opinion after the Tet Offensive led him to relinquish the office of president after his term concluded: did not seek re-election.