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Published byAlfred Allison Modified over 8 years ago
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Vietnam War
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Kennedy & Vietnam Diem government becoming unpopular 1961- JFK orders sharp increase in number of “military advisers” (US troops) in South Vietnam US had allegedly entered Vietnam to foster stability Protect Diem from communists Protect Diem from communists JFK administration organized a coup against Diem
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Kennedy & Vietnam US contributed to political disintegration that originally they were trying to prevent Kennedy still told South Vietnamese it was “their war” By the time of his death, 15,000 men were in Vietnam
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Gulf of Tonkin August 2, 1964- US vs. North Vietnam, one US ship damaged August 4, 1964- alleged 2 nd attack on US ships (did not actually happened) Government uses as blank check for war Government uses as blank check for war Gulf of Tonkin Resolution- authorizes president to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack and prevent future aggression in SE Asia
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LBJ & Vietnam Viet Cong= National Liberation Front Fought South Vietnam & US Fought South Vietnam & US Wanted to overthrow South Vietnamese government & reunite Vietnam Wanted to overthrow South Vietnamese government & reunite Vietnam Supported by North Vietnamese government Supported by North Vietnamese government Viet Cong attacks American air base in Feb. 1965 LBJ orders retaliation- Operation Rolling Thunder Regular full-scale bombing attacks against North Vietnam Regular full-scale bombing attacks against North Vietnam 184,000 troops now involved in war
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LBJ & Vietnam Escalation- drive enemy to defeat w/ minimum loss of life Underestimated Viet Cong US escalation met w/ more men & guerilla warfare South Vietnamese governments becoming more & more corrupt US still claiming south as “democratic” ally US still claiming south as “democratic” ally
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LBJ & Vietnam US saw this as commitment to containment & resisting communist encroachment Domino Theory- if one country falls to communism, the surrounding countries will also fall to communism By 1968, half a million troops in Vietnam & annual bill for war was $30 billion
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Vietnam Vexations Over-commitment in Southeast Asia tied America’s hands elsewhere USSR gained influence in Middle East Six Days War- expands Israel’s power in Middle East Six Days War- expands Israel’s power in Middle East Anti-war demonstrations began Draft brought more & more men to Vietnam Fled to Canada Fled to Canada Burned draft cards Burned draft cards “hell no we won’t go” “hell no we won’t go” “Hey LBJ- How many “Hey LBJ- How many kids did you kill today?”
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Vietnam Vexations Civilians hit hard in Vietnam By 1967, 100,000-150,000 civilian deaths per year By 1967, 100,000-150,000 civilian deaths per year Peasant huts burned Civilians attacked w/ napalm Senate Committee on Foreign Relations aired anti-war televised hearings Public felt they had been deceived about causes & ability to win war “Credibility gap” developed between public & government
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Vietnam Vexations Secretary of Defense= Robert McNamara LBJ announces “bombing halts” in 1966 &1967 Lure enemy to peace table Lure enemy to peace table Used bombing pause to funnel more troops into South Vietnam Used bombing pause to funnel more troops into South Vietnam By 1968, Vietnam War became longest & most unpopular war in US history More bombs dropped on Vietnam than on all enemy territory in WWII LBJ clung to strategy of increasing power little by little
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Tet Offensive January 1968 Tet= Vietnamese New Year Viet Cong suddenly attacked 27 South Vietnamese cities Eventually beaten off Eventually beaten off Victory could not be gained by gradual escalation Victory could not be gained by gradual escalation Americans demand end to war
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Vietnam Topples LBJ American military leaders respond to Tet offensive by requesting 200,000 more troops Democrats divided on war issue LBJ remained committed to war in Vietnam March 1968- LBJ announces he will finally apply breaks to escalating the war Freeze US troop levels Freeze US troop levels Shift responsibility to South Vietnam Shift responsibility to South Vietnam Scale down bombing of enemy Scale down bombing of enemy Nixon elected president in 1968
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Criticisms of Johnson US rejected idea that main enemy was North Vietnam US involved in civil war in which Viet Cong was trying to overthrow corrupt South Vietnamese government In order to save the country, we were destroying it Long war, huge loss of lives & money spent
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Nixon and Vietnam Vietnamization- gradual withdrawal of US as soon as South Vietnam can defend itself Withdraw 540,000 troops Withdraw 540,000 troops South Vietnamese then take over burden of fighting their own war South Vietnamese then take over burden of fighting their own war Nixon Doctrine- US would honor it’s defense commitments but in future Asians (& others) would have to fight their own wars w/o American troops
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Nixon and Vietnam Hawks vs. Doves Doves demanded that withdrawal be prompt & complete Silent Majority- people who presumably supported the war Nixon appeals to this group Nixon appeals to this group
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Realities of Vietnam High number of black soldiers Booby-trapped swamps Steaming jungles Difficult to tell friend from enemy My Lai Massacre-1968, American troops massacred innocent women and children
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Cambodia Invasion 1970, Nixon orders attack on Cambodia Students respond w/ protests Kent State University- members of National Guard fired into a protesting crowd, killing 4 students Jackson State College
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Cambodia Invasion Nixon withdrew troops from Cambodia 2 months later Pentagon Papers- leaked to the press; exposed blunders and deceptions of both JFK and LBJ administrations regarding Vietnam Revealed that LBJ lied to public (Gulf of Tonkin) Revealed that LBJ lied to public (Gulf of Tonkin)
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Nixon’s Détente Henry Kissinger- national security adviser Met w/ N. Vietnam to negotiate end of war Met w/ N. Vietnam to negotiate end of war Détente= Relaxed tension w/ two communist powers (USSR & China) Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty- limited each nation to two clusters of defensive missiles SALT- Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Freeze numbers of long-range nuclear missiles for 5 years Freeze numbers of long-range nuclear missiles for 5 years Slowing of arms race Slowing of arms race
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Bombing North Vietnam to Peace Nixon reelected 1972 2 week bombing of North Vietnam to force them into peace talks January 1973- North Vietnamese agree to cease-fire Peace with Honor US remove troops US remove troops Reclaim POWs Reclaim POWs Keep some troops in S. Vietnam Keep some troops in S. Vietnam North Vietnam still occupied 30% of South Vietnam
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Secret Bombing of Cambodia Cambodia being secretly bombed while US stated that Cambodia’s neutrality was being respected Continues after cease-fire Opposition in Congress Nixon agrees to stop bombing & seek congressional approval in the future
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War Powers Act November 1973 Required president to report to congress within 48 hours after committing troops to a foreign conflict Can remain for 60 days without Congress approval
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Defeat in Vietnam 1975- North Vietnamese pushed southward South Vietnam collapsed South Vietnam collapsed Longest, most frustrating war ends US fought north to a standstill & left South Vietnam to fight $118 billion US lost more than a war Lost confidence in military Lost confidence in military Lost face in eyes of foreign powers Lost face in eyes of foreign powers
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