Vietnam War Flashcards
What was the American message upon entering the war?
That the Vietnam War was against totalitarian communism and to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people
What sparked the student protest movements in the 1960s?
After the John Wayne film ‘Green Berets’ it became clear the US effort wasn’t about winning hearts and minds - it was about killing and bombing
How did media representations of the war change after 1975?
Hollywood representations became very critical of the war
Where was much of the Cold War fought?
At the periphery or so called ‘non aligned third world countries’
What was JFK?
More gung-ho - but still claimed to be targeting the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people
What did JFK’s effort rely on?
Partly it relied on counter-insurgency. Instead of being dependent on nuclear weapons
What effort did JFK try and organise?
Defeat revolutionaries who challenged third world governments who were hostile to US’ allies
What did JFK step up and why did he do it?
Stepped up US military and technical advice to South Vietnam - trained native troops, trained Vietnamese police forces - to quell unrest
What did the US deploy to Vietnam? And why?
An elite special forces unit deployed to provide a protective shield against insurgents whilst american civilian personnel worked on economic projects
What was the problem with the US policy in Vietnam?
Many ‘third world’ countries resented the US and realised they didn’t see much of the foreign aid money. As it often went into the hands of the corrupt within those countries
What did any of the ‘third world’ countries think of the US model of living?
Thought it wasn’t the right model for them and that another might be better suited
What did US actions in Southeast Asia show about the US mindset regarding overseas affairs?
That the United States could, and should, intervene in the affairs of distant nations
What is most surprising in the Vietnam War?
That for all the US’s strength, money and impressive military it couldn’t defeat a rag tag militia even though they invested billions of dollars
How did the US see Vietnam during the 1940s and 50s?
Mainly a French problem, for decades the French had exploited the area (for rubber, tin and tungsten) - Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
What happened to the French during WW2?
French authority had collapsed - Japan invaded and took control of lots of SE Asia
How did the US act in Vietnam during WW2?
US OSS (Office of Strategic Services) Agents - worked with Vietnamese nationalists against Japan → Ho Chi Minh – harass Japanese occupiers, and French collaborators
Why did the US try to help France regain control?
They wanted French support during the Cold War and they didn’t want to lose control of the resources in the region
What mistake did the US make regarding Ho Chi Minh?
Mistrusted him - he was nationalist first, communist second. He would allow soviet expansionist attitudes
What did the US decide would decide Vietnam’s future?
National elections - however they were clearly fraudulent as Diem (ruler of the south) won with a supposed 98% of the vote.
How did the US interfere with the National elections?
Invested $1 billion in Diem, many thought that Ho Chi Minh should have won. And the US refused to allow national unifying elections - showing there was no democracy
What started happening in 1960?
Non-communist and communists began striking back at Diem’s totalitarian regime. Assassinated hundreds of Diem’s village officials, Formed the National liberation Front
How can the Vietnam war be broken down into two civil wars?
The North vs South. And then within the south there was the NLF guerrillas vs Diem’s goverment
What is proof of JFK wanting to put more ‘muscle’ into US foreign policy?
In late 1963 there was Project Beef Up where 16,000 advisors were sent to Vietnam and more money was spent into corrupt regimes
What did many US officials finally realise?
That Diem was too corrupt and was the problem - they allowed him to be assassinated
Who was JFK’s replacement and what was he like in comparison?
Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) was another ‘muscular’ president but was more pragmatic and successfully launhed ‘Great Society’ reform program after JFK death - a lot for poor, but escalated JFK’s Vietnam policies
What allowed LBJ to persuade Congress to agree to all out war?
The Gulf of Tonkin incident
What was Operation Rolling Thunder?
A series of bombing campaigns against North Vietnam over the 17th Parallel - more bombs were dropped on Vietnam than were dropped throughout WW2 (by US)
What could the US destroy?
Infrastructure but not resolve - they would just rebuild
How did the CIA get involved?
Operation Phoenix - Helped organise an assassination campaign targetting NLF leaders - however some killed were innocents
How did Ho Chi Minh respond to the CIA’s presence? How did the US respond to that?
Response was to increase arms provided to South Vietnam rebels - US responded by sending more troops
How many troops were there by 1969?
Over half a million
What began to happen domestically within the US that affected the war?
Increased discontent with how the war was going as they saw it being reported on the evening news and this was during a time where the media were free to report on issues as they wished, highlighting the harsh reality of Vietnam. It turned a lot of the younger generation against the conflict - through things such as Agent Orange and the My Lai massacre
What happened in Jan 1969?
The Tet Offensive - massive assault by North on South - didn’t add up - people had been told they were winning, graphics of body counts etc - the illusion was broken
What did Nixon do in regards to Vietnam?
Claimed he had a ‘secret plan’ to end the war but that he could not discuss it. Withdrew troops but stepped up bombing - idea of pounding Hanoi into concession
