JFK Foreign Policy: The Cold War in the 1960s JFK took an aggressively anti-communist stance. (WWII experience made him ardently against “appeasement.”) Moved from “massive retaliation” to “flexible response” 3 major confrontations: –Bay of Pigs invasion –Berlin Crisis –Cuban Missile Crisis

JFK Foreign Policy: Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba CIA-trained Cuban exiles invaded Cuba with US support in April 1961 miserable failure JFK called off US air support Castro, USSR not pleased

JFK Foreign Policy: Berlin Crisis (1961) E. Germany/USSR again assumed threatening posture toward West Berlin standoff broken by Communist construction of Berlin Wall (dividing East and West Berlin)

JFK’s Greatest Challenge: Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) American U2 spy plane photos showed Soviet missile sites under construction in Cuba JFK considered air strikes but decided to quarantine (blockade) Cuba instead confrontations between US and Soviet ships off coast of Cuba could have triggered WWIII Khrushchev backed down and removed missile sites in exchange for US agreement not to invade Cuba and a secret agreement to remove US missiles from Turkey

Vietnam: Historical Background The Vietnamese people had a long history of being dominated by others French colony before WWII occupied by Japan during WWII Vietnamese nationalists under Ho Chi Minh helped US troops expel Japan during WWII. Ho and the Vietnamese assumed that Vietnam would be granted independence at the end of WWII. Instead, Truman allowed the French to retake their colony of French Indochina.

Ho Chi Minh Though considered just another Soviet-supported communist by the US government, Ho Chi Minh was a national hero to millions of Vietnamese and a symbol of Vietnamese independence.

Vietnamese Nationalist Movement (1950s) Vietnamese nationalists, led by Ho, fought a war for independence against the French. France’s defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 forced a French withdrawal. The Geneva Conference of 1956 divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel. North Vietnam: Nationalist, socialistic government under Ho Chi Minh South Veitnam: US-supported capitalist government under Ngo Dinh Diem

Vietnam War Nationalist, increasingly communist guerrillas within South Vietnam (Viet Cong) rebelled against the US-supported Diem government. US military assistance to the Diem government gradually grew throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Diem government became so unpopular that the US supported the assassination of Diem in The situation did not improve, however.

Tonkin Gulf Incident August 1964 The destroyer USS Maddox reported being fired upon by N. Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin (off the Vietnamese coast) on a dark night. There is serious question as to whether the Maddox was ever actually fired upon. President Johnson asked Congress to allow an escalation of the US military effort in Vietnam.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964) Congress passed a resolution giving President Johnson the authority “to take all necessary measures to any armed attack against the forces of the US [in Vietnam] and to prevent further aggression.” Congress basically gave LBJ a “blank check” in increase US involvement in the Vietnam War.

Escalation Operation Rolling Thunder (1965) US troop levels increased to over 500,000 by Gen. William Westmoreland and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara presided over the escalation and continually assured LBJ and the American public that victory was imminent.

Tet Offensive January 1968 Tet = Vietnamese New Year massive North Vietnamese/Viet Cong offensive against all major cities and US military installations in South Vietnam eventual military victory for US BUT... It was a public relations disaster. Americans no longer believed victory was close at hand, and public opinion turned against the war. (influence of TV played a role)

Public Opinion and Vietnam A vocal anti-war movement emerged in 1966 and Protests ignited controversies on college campuses and on the street. Events like the Tet Offensive and My Lai Massacre of helped to turn even non- protesters against the war.

September 11, 2001 And the rest is...