VIETNAM: EARLY INVOLVEMENT

A.Kennedy and Diem 1. Kennedy supported the non-communist government of South Vietnam under Diem. 2. Diem was corrupt a. Used US aid to advance his own power b. Jailed or killed anyone who opposed his policies c. Former Vietminh in South Vietnam form the National Liberation Front (NLF) against Diem d. Diem called the NLF the “Vietcong” (or Vietnamese Communists)

3.Kennedy sent many military ‘advisors’ to Vietnam to make sure the South did not fall to the Vietcong 4.Diem was intolerant toward Buddhists a. Buddhist monks publicly burned themselves b. Diem officials attacked more than 2,000 Buddhist temples and killed many in the process (1963) c. Diem was killed in a coup, with Kennedy’s full knowledge in 1963.

B.Johnson 1. Gulf of Tonkin (8/4/64) a. Reports of enemy fire towards the U.S.S. Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin prompted Congress to pass a Resolution b. Gave President Johnson the power to “take any means necessary” to repel an attack against US forces c. Johnson was able to dispense combat troops without a Congressional Declaration of War

2.Operation Rolling Thunder a. The systematic bombing campaign of North Vietnam b. Failed to break the will of the North Vietnamese c. Huge numbers of troops were sent to the South to support the bombing d. By the end of 1965 over 200,000 troops were in Vietnam