The Vietnam War Issues - Essay Example

There was also the fact that millions of dollars had been spent in the war and the people were no longer willing for their tax money to be used to finance a war that they were losing. The loss of the money which caused the withdrawal was a result of poor planning on the part of the military leaders on what areas to hit and the use of magnitude. They hit the wrong area and gave the Vietcongs the advantage in the end. The media also put pressure on the government to withdraw its troops and end the war after receiving tips on the progress of the war, the budget, and the number of deaths (Johnson, 883). This pressure went international and eventually, the government gave in and withdrew.

Zinn insists in great detail that the most important factor that led to the withdrawal was the massively organized civil rights movement against the involvement of the US in Vietnam and especially regarding the killings of innocent civilians (Zinn, 484). They also protested against the excessive force being used by the US government in Vietnam especially the bombings and mass shootings by the CIA operatives.

The other factor was the fact that the young men who had been drafted burnt their draft cards and even refused to show up at the draft office. This reduced immensely the number of drafted soldiers required to go to Vietnam by more than half. The war could not continue without soldiers and since the young men had refused to be drafted, there was no alternative but to end it.

The most compelling is that of Zinn. In Johnson’s account, the US could borrow more money from other places and continue financing the war. This was therefore no major reason to end the war. However, in Zinn’s account, the two major reasons provided have a significant impact. If the government could not enlist enough soldiers to go to war, they would be unable to fight and hence be in an even worse place.