Causes of Vietnam War - Research Paper Example

? Causes of Vietnam War School Inarguably, one of the longest standing conflicts between the nations of the world was the Cold War. The Cold War is defined by many critics as a “state of political, social and military tension, which divided the world into two major factions, one led by the United States of America and its allies from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, while the other faction led by the Soviet Union and other major powers in the communist world” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary n.d.)1. The Cold War, “which got its name from an article by George Orwell” (Orwell 1945)2, lasted for more than four decades, from 1947 to 1991. This standoff between the superpowers of then resulted in numerous events that were noted down in history, as brutal, callous, unjust and tense. The aforementioned events included the “Berlin Blockade from 1948 to 1949, the Korean War that lasted for more than three years, the Berlin Crisis in the year 1961, the Vietnam War that continued for almost twenty five years, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet forces (1979–1989), and the Able Archer NATO exercises in November 1983” (Major Events of the Cold War n.d.)3. In the early 10th Century A.D, during the Tang Dynasty in ancient China, the dynasty’s economy and military’s gradient started to fall and over the time it weakened to such an extent that the Vietnamese population of the Red River Delta, an area invaded by the Chinese back in 100 BC, rebelled against their Chinese rulers and set up a traditional, native dynasty in the northern conurbation of Hanoi. Later in 1462, the emperor Le Loi got rid of all the remaining Chinese warlords in the region. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Mekong River delta got populated as the aforementioned Vietnamese population moved southwards. By this time, after fighting the Chinese, they had established amongst themselves, bonds of unity, brotherhood and were known to have a rebellious nature. As a result of the driving out of the Chinese, Vietnam gained an important and a strategic position on the world map. This was because it had gained independence from the Chinese rule and its geographical position made it paramount for traders across the world, as it was “close to the South China Sea and countries such as India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and southern China” (Meehan n.d.)4. Taking advantage of the vital geographically strategic position of Vietnam, the Portuguese made their entry into the country in the 16th century, followed by the French and the Dutch, however, after continuous fights over power and control, the French established Vietnam as their colony and gained control of the country. The French ruled Vietnam from the year 1887 to 1954. Vietnam was considered a major addition to the French Indochina Empire, however, the sixty seven year old rule of the French over Vietnam was considered as one of the harshest and the crudest times in the history. The French governance dripped of nepotism, discrimination – of all sorts and Vietnam was considered as a personal golden egg laying hen for the French, which was exploited for personal gains and benefits but was not paid back and credited, what it deserved. The production and sale of alcohol and salt was put under the statutory control of the government, which meant that it could not be sold or produced privately. This resulted in an economic outrage amongst the trader fraternity, which continued for years. Rice was exported from the French-owned plantations only, while many Vietnamese locals did not have enough to eat. The French imposed strict sanctions on the labor as well. The labor rights were violated and workers were imprisoned if they attempted at leaving their jobs. The majority of the laborers imprisoned were either mine workers or the ones who worked as farmers in the rubber plantations. Under the subject of economics, the government took no measures to control the inflation, yet multiplied the taxes. The standards of living of the population and their purchasing powers, deteriorated gradually, with time. During the 1940s, the Second World War commenced and the control of Vietnam was shared between the Japanese and the French. “In 1941 a young nationalist, Ho Chi Minh, formed the League for Vietnamese Independence ("Viet Minh") to resist French-Japanese rule. The Viet Minh supplied information to the USA and helped downed American pilots escape to China” (Meehan n.d.)5. Ho Chi Minh’s political faction, Viet Minh gained immense political and social influence over time amongst the locals. This was because of the tyrannical rule of the French over the past few decades. “Ho Chi Minh was an active political reformer, who had previously pleaded to Woodrow Wilson, the President of the United States of America, for an independent Vietnam, at Versailles, but in vain” (Causes and Effects of the Vietnam War n.d.)6. As a result of the gained popularity amongst the masses, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam as a free, independent and a sovereign state, in 1945. The French were supposedly thrown out of Vietnam and their colony was abolished however, the fight for an independent Vietnam began again, a year later, between the French and the forces of Ho Chi Minh, as the French returned to power with the assistance from China and Britain. As the French received assistance from their geographical allies, China and Britain in regaining control of Vietnam, it was, however, surprising for Ho Chi Minh since he did not receive any assistance from the United States of America, as he had expected to do so. This also made the loyalties of the Truman government in the United States of America clear to the Vietnamese, leading to a thrift in the respective foreign policies of the United States of America, as well as Viet Minh, despite the fact that both shared cordial relationships in the past and had the uniform views over the colonization of Vietnam by the French. Under the banner of the Cold War, the United States of America believed that it had gotten the right to act as the world’s police. The basic objective behind expressing concern over territorial issues by the United States of America was the fact that it wanted to eradicate the influence of the communists from Asia. After the foreign policy alterations, the United States of America voiced their concern about the spreading influence of the Communism in Asia. Through this, they indirectly pointed fingers towards Vietnam and insinuated their fear that Vietnam might fall to the Communists as well, since Ho Chi Minh supported the communist school of thought and was an “active part of the French Communist Party” (Meehan n.d.)7. In order to curb the growing control and influence of Communism, as a part of their policy in the Cold War, the United States of America announced their blatant and unconditional support for the French, in their struggle to regain power in Vietnam by bearing seventy five percent of their total war costs and expenses. The year 1954 observed a Viet Minh victory over the French. The French were defeated by Ho Chi Minh’s men by a large scale at Dien Bein Phu. Later that year, moderator nations planned for peace talks between Viet Minh and the French at Geneva, which were conclusive after the decision of elections to be held in the year 1956. Ngo Dinh Diem, a South Vietnamese leader, too had gained influence over the time. The decision of holding elections was not acceptable to Diem as he had enforced himself over the public and had framed an establishment which was not much different from that made by the French. Diem refused to hold elections, as decided. In the year 1960, communists in South Vietnam felt the need to overthrow Diem and unanimously formed the National Liberation Front (“Viet Cong”). The manifesto behind the establishment and operation of Viet Cong was to launch a guerilla war against Diem. Viet Cong carried out its operations very effectively and soon Diem felt that defeat was not far and turned to the United States of America for help. The United States of America already had their motives defined; they did not want the spread of Communism in Asia and not controlling Viet Cong meant otherwise. Therefore, to reinforce Diem and to minimize the communist spread in this region, the newly elected President of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy, sent military support, manpower, armed gunship helicopters and weaponry, to South Vietnam, successfully bringing Diem back to power, as the Viet Cong guerilla fighters were under equipped with ammunition and did not have the same level of expertise as the US soldiers did. Diem recommenced his regime and it was one of the most tyrannical ones, ever seen, in protest of which the Buddhist monks started burning themselves to death and soon the White House lost all the confidence they had in him too. “The United States of America encouraged the Vietnamese army to stage a military coup, which resulted in the killing of Diem in 1963” (The History Place - Vietnam War n.d.)8. This step was taken by the United States to appoint a premiere that could restore the confidence and support the United States, however, and whenever they needed, especially in achieving their objectives of the Cold War. “The US government had a firm belief in the "Domino theory" - that if Vietnam fell to the Communists, neighboring countries like Laos, Cambodia and Thailand would also fall to communism” (Meehan n.d.)9. The United States of America, on the other hand saw the Domino theory coming true, because of the growth of the communist guerilla groups in Vietnam and chose a path of legalizing aggression, yet again as in August 1964, they passed a resolution through the US Congress, “authorizing the President of the United States of America to wage war against any country which threatened the sovereignty and motive achievement of the US government” (College n.d.)10. Six months after the passing of this resolution, the United States Air Force launched aerial attacks and started bombing the northern part of Vietnam and approximately a force of two hundred thousand US army soldiers was sent in to fight in Vietnam. Soon the US adapted the callous policy of “search and destroy” (History Channel n.d.)11 according to which entire villages were burnt and bombed to pieces because of the fact that Viet Cong guerilla warriors were familiar to their territory and it was hard to distinguish them from other inhabitants of the villages, which made victory for the US forces, very arduous. In March 1968, the advisors of the government and critics around the world urged that the US should contract its operations in Vietnam and soon the bombing in the north was brought to a halt. This happened as a result of a surprise attack by the guerilla forces on hundred major towns, simultaneously, which resulted in many US soldiers being killed. Between the years, 1969 to 1971, “a remarkable decrease was seen in the number of US troops in Vietnam, as the number fell from 0.5 million to almost 0.15 million” (Vietnam War Statistics n.d.)12. And by 1973, the last combat troops left Vietnam and a ceasefire document was signed in Paris, two months later. After the war, the American government halted the aid inflow into Vietnam, taking advantage of which the Chinese and the Soviet Union launched an unconditional aid program for the Vietnamese. “In 1975, North Vietnam launched a full-fledged attack on its southern faction” (Larson n.d.)13, and after fighting of almost a year and a total loss of more than a million lives over the years; both the geographical factions were integrated into a single nation. Works Cited Causes and Effects of the Vietnam War. n.d. http://www.mrbaker.org/Causes%20and%20Effects%20of%20the%20Vietnam%20War.htm (accessed April 25, 2012). College, Vassar. Overview of the Vietnam War . n.d. http://vietnam.vassar.edu/overview/index.html (accessed April 30, 2012). History Channel. n.d. www.history.tv (accessed April 2012, 25). Larson, Mike. Heroes: A Year in Vietnam with the First Air Cavalry Division. iUniverse Publishers, n.d. Major Events of the Cold War. n.d. http://www.angelfire.com/il/coldwar/Events.html (accessed April 25, 2012). Meehan, Frankie. Cause and Effect: The Vietnam War. n.d. http://www.tesoltasks.com/VietnamCauseEffect.htm (accessed April 25, 2012). Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. n.d. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cold%20war (accessed April 30, 2012). Orwell, George. "You and the Atomic Bomb." Tribune, 1945. The History Place - Vietnam War. n.d. http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1961.html (accessed April 30, 2012). Vietnam War Statistics. n.d. http://www.vhfcn.org/stat.html (accessed April 30, 2012). Read More