Vietnam War Flashcards
What happened at Gulf of Tonkin?
?
How did the U.S. respond?
?
What factors drove LBJ’s thinking?
?
Escalation of U.S presence
1964-23,000
1965-164,000
1967-400,000
1968-9- 550,000
Battle for hearts and minds (why U.S. struggled to win)
Hard to tell between combatants and civilians
Scale of U.S. bombing
8 million tons of bombs, 4x the tonnage of bombs dropped by all sides in
What happened during the Tet offensive?
US attacks Viet Cong
What was Tet’s significance to the U.S. role in Vietnam?
The attack was broadcast in US
What were U.S. officials saying just before Tet?
They believed victory was close
Costs of Vietnam War (numbers of Americans and Vietnamese killed)
3,500,000 V killed, 58,000 A killed
Vietnam Syndrome
For decades after loss in Vietnam US leaders (and public) reluctant to send US troops overseas
Domino Effect (expectations fulfilled?)
?
Powell Doctrine
Only intervene is US interest is clear, use overwhelming strategy, have clear exit strategy
