The History of Korian War and International Relationships - Essay Example

Second, Eisenhower was elected on a pledge to stop the Korean War, so it does not make much sense that he would want to hop right into the Vietnam War. In fact, Eisenhower was initially very hesitant to join the war at all and did not want to do so unless proper support from the other Western societies was provided (Karnow 1997, 197). It is likely already clear that an obsession on the part of the United States to end communism is a bit dramatic. No doubt, the United States did have a strong interest in bringing an end to communism, and this was clearly reflected in its external affairs.

The United States was operating under the “Domino Theory” which basically is the theory that if the countries in Indochina were converted to communism, then the rest of China would as well, and from there, it probably would not stop. So, it is not hard to see why, under these assumptions, the United States acted the way it did (Karnow 1997, 169). This is where the author's third point comes into play. Most people will agree with the author that the United States should have left these countries alone to fight their own wars and not let our young people die halfway across the world, and maybe they are right.

It must be remembered, however, that the world at the time was a very different place. In the midst of the Cold War, no one wanted to take any chances. As we can now see in other countries the effect that communism has, perhaps it really is the enemy of democracy, so maybe they were right to fight it. However, looking back we can also see that the United States presence in Vietnam did little to no good. As is usually the case this debate will likely still be going on another fifty years from now.