Hearts and Minds: America and VietnamI. Vietnam – a short history1) a “scrappy little country” -LBJ2) The French and the “Indochina” colony (1880s-1954)3) The Viet Minh aka Viet Conga) Nationalists (i.e. not simply communists)b) Very popular – progressive policiesi) Land reformII. Enter the U.S. 1) Vietnam, containment and “monolithic Communism”a) the “Domino Theory”i) if Vietnam falls to communism, then every country around it will also fall to communismb) Funding the French Indochina warc) Geneva Settlement – 1954i) divides Vietnam north and southii) no elections - war erupts1. US gov’t encourages Vietnam NOT to have elections so Ho Chi Minh doesn’t gain powerIII. Entering the Quagmire 1) Aug. 2, 1964; US supposedly attacked; rationale to enter the war according to LBJ2) Support for Diem and the ARVN (army of the republic of Viet Nam)3) JFK and “military advisors”4) LBJ and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution – 1964a. Gave LBJ authorization to use military power in southeast Asia without a formal declaration of war from congress5) Direct US involvement begins – ROLLING THUNDER, Marines at Da Nang, etc.V. Fighting the War11) the ineffectiveness of air powera) air campaigns designed to stop the flow of industry to communists in the south2) the ineffectiveness of the ground war- not prepared or equipped for guerilla warfarea) “search and destroy” and “body counts”i) Going out in search of Viet Cong and trying to kill them faster than they can replace themselvesb) frustration – My Lai massacrei) assumed there was Viet Cong in My Lai, but actually none, so entire village killed for no reason except as a morale boosterIV. Tet Offensive, January 19681) A huge coordinated attack on the US by the VC2) “Where’d all these VC come from?”3) The “credibility gap” and growing antiwar sentiment at home4) The pullout begins because of lack of American supporta) US people losing trust in the gov’t5) 1975- VC conquers the SouthV. Reaction1) Vietnam, the end of liberal dominance and the rise of conservatism2) Assigning blame?a) “We didn’t go all the way to achieve victory”b) “We should have invaded/nuked the North”c) “The media and protestors lost the war”d) Rambo: First Blood, Part II (1986) and POW
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