How do you view USA's entry into Vietnam? Do you think they were doing good or were they completely out of line and they should have stayed away from the conflict? Personally I think USA should have kept well away from Vietnam and if their "Domino Theory" was becoming a reality then they should have taken another pathway to stopping it. Even though it may be near impossible for most countries to resistant the force of communism.
Probably should have stayed away — but that's easy for me to say. I don't know the real reasons why they wanted to fight in Vietnam. Plus I wasn't born then and I'm not American
I think it was a big mistake. The negatives far outweighed the positives. I think there were much more effective ways to defeat the communist threat. Vietnam is such a small country that it being a communist country wasn't a big deal when compared to much larger countries both economically and militarily, such as Russia and China. We were able to defeat Russian in the Cold War without going to war, and China has embraced capitalism to a certain extent. So it shows there are other ways to advance American ideals and to triumph over enemies without going to war. It just takes restraint and patience.
Indeed. Perhaps the real reason for America picking Vietnam was because it wasn't all that big of a country compared to other countries that were pressured into communism. Maybe the US thought of it as an "easy war" to show that they were prepared to fight off communism and scare other countries into holding their economics in their own country and not to force it upon others. Again, a complete guess.
I think it was a mistake. America seriously underestimated the Vietnamese forces. And yes it was to show some bullying of a Communist nation that serious backfired.
Damn right they underestimated the Vietnamese forces. Their tactics were far superior if you ask me. They worked like little ants to constantly rebuild areas that were destroyed and had an incredible amout of men in reserve to come in at anytime the number of troops were low.
There are no simple answers. If you know the pre-American entrance into Vietnam then things clear up a little. In 1950 Ho Chi Minh asked for American intervention because north Vietnam wanted to reunite with the south which was being held by the French as a territory. The French did not want to let go primarily because of south Vietnams' tremendous rubber production capabilities which was also enjoyed by the United States. Matter of fact, Goodyear or Goodrich (I can't remember which) had a major stake in the matter. Long story short, Ho Chi Minh, when turned down by the U.S., went to China and the U.S.S.R. and was received well. He got a little help with enough arms and money to defeat the French Foreign Legion at Cao Bang in October of 1950. The French was one of our allies so president Eisenhower sent the first police/advisory group to help the French. This was in 1951. The rest is history. So, the real question should be, "Should the United States have kept our word of alliance in a monetary/political problem that the French could have handled themselves? Dunno. But when the French pulled out later on, we stayed. Rubber anyone?
