The US Decision to Retreat from Vietnam - Essay Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : U.S decision to retreat from Vietnam Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Question I Introduction The Vietnam War also referred to as the second Indiochina conflict was a cold war that took place between the years 1955-1975.The participants of the war included the North Vietnam communists who received support from their communist allies the opposing camp was the South Vietnam government who gained support from the United States and other nations who were basically anti- communist.. The war arose as a result of an attempt by the North Vietnam camp of trying to impose the system of communism over the whole nation. The United States was greatly discontented with this forceful move, basically due to the fact that her great rival the Soviet Union was in the opposing camp aiming at spreading her ideology of communism In Vietnam. Many analysts argue that the involvement of the U.S in the war was basically attributed to strategic interest or the aspect of the containment strategy. The war transpired during the cold war can be perceived as a type of indirect conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States (James 2006). The most interesting aspect concerning this particular war is that in despite of the U.S commitment of stopping the imposition of communism in Vietnam, the U.S eventually withdrew its support in the defense of South Vietnam. The claims given by the United States government is that she was compelled to make the decision because of political pressure back at home which undermined the ability to tactfully undertake the war and the desire to discontinue more communist expansions in Asia. Political scientists have linked the withdrawal of the U.S from the war as a result of pretext. However despite of this claims it is essential to make an analysis of the main contributions of the U.S society towards the U.S government decision to retreat from Vietnam (1968-1973), yet initially she seemed fully committed to winning the war. Secondly it is also essential to evaluate if the contributions made by various American opponents to the war were actually justified. Contributions of the U.S society in the decision to retreat from Vietnam The Media Through out the period of U.S participation in the Vietnam War, opposition was very dominant in almost the enter U.S territory. Daniel (1995) highlights that the antagonism from the press and public was perhaps the main reason why the existing president Johnson Lyndon made the crucial decision of retreating from the war. However the level to which the American society was opposed to the war is actually a debatable notion The role of the media in the opposing the U.S involvement in the Vietnam War was quite significant. The televised image of the Vietnam War was permanently altered according to the view points of political analysts. For instance there was a great amount of coverage concerning the loss of discipline and morale by the U.S troops. The media depicted how there was increased misconduct in the military for example drug abuse and various disciplinary linked behaviors. It also highlighted the increasing rise of casualties in the war they described as lame and dark. The media also used the civil rights antiwar campaigns to massively air the negative aspects of the Vietnam War. Increased negative coverage of the war through movies, cartoon episodes and also printed press resulted to the slow withdrawal of the American troops from the war. (Wyatt 1993). Various contemporary historians have criticized the approach taken by the media to portray the war in a negative manner. As the war progressed and after it had ended, the media coverage according to some historians was perceived as depicting misinterpreted facts. They strongly believed that the greatly anticipated victory against communism in Vietnam basically ended up a political failure and defeat due to the media’s role in negative reporting. The historians further believed that the television and the press developed an atmosphere of defeat rather than victory. Hammond (1998) concluded that there was a great link between the withdrawals of the U.S from the war with the offensive coverage of the whole war scenario by the media. When making an analysis of how the media was justified towards its perspective and reaction towards the war, through its coverage, it is essential to analyze if the media effectively performed its role. The big question is that was it propaganda that was advocated by the media? Or was the media justified in its role of informing the citizens concerning true events in Vietnam. The justification of the media’s action is actually a debatable issue; there are political scientist who perceived the move as justified due to the fact that the media effectively played its role of highlighting the true state and nature of the war. They claimed that if the war had negative impacts on the American society then it was not offensive to highlight the true nature of the war. On the other hand the opponents of Media role on the war argue that the media basically used propaganda to present its stand of being against the war. The further claimed that the media used common propaganda tactics such as using selective stories, for instance for the first time the horrors that are linked to war entered the living rooms of many American families through the movies that highlighted the destruction of villages, children burning in Vietnam and the American troops being sent back home( Clarence 1995) . The opponents of the media’s participation of the war also highlight that their coverage was all propaganda due to the fact that only facts that are partial were used , the discourse used to highlight the stories was also narrow and the media generally reinforced the war as a thereat to security. The military The U.S force deployment to the Vietnam War can be described as the longest deployment in the American history. Although initially there was no formal declaration of war leading to the troop’s entry in Vietnam, J.F Kennedy sent about 2,000 military advices to the region in 1961. This marked the initiation of a twelve year U.S military combat in Vietnam. The number of American troops increased steadily until it arrived at its peak in 1969 with a total of 543,400 deployments. The sum total of the troops that served in Vietnam amounted to 2.7 million. Of the total number more than 58,000 remain missing or died, the number of individual wounded added up to 300,000. The government spent huge sums of money on funding the war (Anderson 1999). After the assassination of President Kennedy, the new President Lyndon Johnson inherited the dilemma on Vietnam and pledged that the U.S objective was to assist Vietnam overcome the communist imposition, he therefore did not withdraw troops but rather increased the number of solders in the region. As the war become tighter the military also felt the need of some sort of relief from the conflict .The images depicted by the media back home also indicated that the U.S troops had lost the battle and were just striking options of survival (Sears 2001). The military also played a significant role in the decision to retreat from the war. For instance in the early 1970 an increasing number of solders opted to develop signifiers of peace that indicated protest against the war. They made peace symbols in their wearing beads and helmets. Other officers also championed for the release of their fellow solders that were held as captives by the opposing camp. The solders requested the president to make another attempt of resuming the North Vietnam bombing for the purpose of convincing the North Vietnam to release the American prisoners (Anderson 1999). The information operation system of the military during the war was to some extent not discreet about the happenings in the Vietnam War. They basically did not manage or restrict the information that they gave to the media. They organized frequent press briefing and media sessions which were later displayed to the public. In addition the military let the media have access to the war zones. This kind of openness concerning the events of the war resulted more pressure by activists and the general public to the government to withdraw from the war. The discipline and morale of the solders reduced in 1969 as the ineffectiveness of the war begun to show its signs. The aspects of withdrawal from the war become a more obvious option. Having bravely fought the war and greatly suffered the troops had grown better because the inability to see any sort of progress, the politicians back home had also given up on their support and believe that the solders would actually win the war, this basically greatly undermined the effectiveness of the military. The only motivation they had was to find mechanisms of survival. Incidents of mutiny insubordination, drug use , deadly assaults on the officers, use, racial tensions, and various problems arose which were basically an indication of lack of focus and commitment by the military in the Vietnam war( Hammond 1998). When analyzing the justification of the U.S militaries move to in trying to end the U.S participation the Vietnam War, arguments have been raised concerning the war, for instance was it very vital for the United States to fight the war? And were the strategies used to fight the war correct? Many political analysts believe that the use of Vietnam as a strategic interest concept was actually exaggerated and misconceived. In addition they argue that Vietnams politics and History could not be mainly altered by the military power of the United States no matter how powerful they clamed to be. In addition as a result of the U.S involvement in the war it had to work hard to maintain its strategic and moral credibility in the view point of other nations of the world. As a result the militaries action of seeking the need to withdraw from the war was actually very much justified basing on these facts. Human rights activists also perceived the presence of the military in Vietnam has a violation of human rights both for the troops and the citizens of Vietnam. On the other hand there were those who thought that withdrawal of troops was basically attributed to the loss of political power (Neuman 1992). Role of politicians and Activists Politicians and activist also played a significant role in the retrieve of U.S troupes from Vietnam. For instance the progressive Labour party devised an organization that was referred to as an anti-imperialist organization, known as the M2M (May Second Movement). The purpose of the movement was to offer analysis of the Vietnam War and further urge for international solidarity with militant action and the Vietnamese. The movement was basically trying to blame the entire war scenario on President Johnson. The M2M organization printed and distributed thousands of newspaper articles in order to revolutionize the perspective of every individual concerning the war in Vietnam. Human rights activists also protested against the war due to the various human rights violations that emerged from the war. They believed that the atrocities committed against the people were actually unnecessary and against human right (James 2006). The opinions of the politicians and activists were actually justified due to the fact that the war was basically a contributory factor to the degradation of human rights and economic and political wastage. Campus Protests Many academic institutions arose to fight against the war for instance in the 1960 the University of California formulated the freedom of speech movement whereby the students organized protests against the war in Vietnam. For instance after President Johnsons move in February I965 to order another organized bombing on North Vietnam the committee on anti – war protest begun to mobilize thousands of university students to protest against the move. In addition the massive build up shocked many Americans and further gave credibility to the anti war protestors to continue with their quest for ending the war. Serious protests were also organized by in cities such as New York during the 1963 summer. The protest was sponsored by the Progressive Labor Party. Thousands of individual came to protest and marched the city streets in protest of what they termed as U.S government imperialism (Karnow 1983). Conclusion Despite the massive military attempt to take part in the Vietnam War, the U.S.A failed to attain its objective of maintaining a noncommunist state that is independent in the Southern part of Vietnam. President Nixon outline d his justification of the war by highlighting that the war was basically designed for the protection of American citizens and further completing the program on Vietanmaization. However the failure of the war to attain most of its objectives led to many questions about how and why the war was actually fought. The most Ironical factor about the Vietnam War was that it had little impact on the daily lives of the Americans therefore the government was actually forced to consider the democratic implications of the war on its citizens. For instance a lot of the national resources were being channeled to the war instead of being directed to improving the lives of the citizens. Therefore despite of how assertive, concerned and prepared the government was during the war, there was no basic justification for the Vietnam War. It must have been rather unsounded how an average American can make a connection concerning the reason why the United States had any issue to do with a small and far a way Asian country. As a result the machine of propagandas was well utilized by the opponents of the government and the war to greatly oppose the U.S involvement in the Vietnam War (Edwin 1996). As highlighted by the above presentation the decision of the government to retreat for the war was basically as a result of pressure , from the media , politicians and the general public. It can also be stated that to some extent their contributions were intensely justified this is due to the fact that the main aim of the U.S participation in the war was perceived by many as a motive of strategic importance. Bibliography Anderson, D, 1999, The Military and Diplomatic Course of the Vietnam War, New York: Oxford UP Clarence R, 1995, Paper Soldiers: The American Press and the Vietnam War. Chicago: University of Chicago Press David, E, 1984, The Vietnam Veteran: A History of Neglect. New York, Praeger Publishers. Daniel C., 1995, The Uncensored War: The Media and Vietnam, , Los Angles ,California University of California Press. Edwin, M, 1996, Tonkin Gulf and the escalation of Vietnam War. London, Chapel Hill. Hammond, M, 1998, Reporting Vietnam: Media and Military at War, , Kansas, Kansas University Press. James H, 2006, The Offensive: A Concise History. New York: Columbia University Press. Karnow, S, 1983, Vietnam: A History. New York Viking, New York, Sage. Kaiser, C, 1968, War In America. New York: Grove Press, 1997 Lyndon B, 1964, The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Laurence, John, 2001, History Today, "A Failed Truth - A Reporter's View of Vietnam". Gale Group, v51 i10 p8. Neuman, W, 1992, Common Knowledge: News and the Construction of Political Meaning. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Sears, K.G., 2001, "Vietnam: Looking 1992, Back at the Facts". K.G. Sears, 2001. [presumably an unpublished document--DF] William C, 1994, The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War; Executive and Legislative Roles and Relationships, Vol. 2, p. 4 Wyatt, C, 1993, Paper Soldiers: The American Press and the Vietnam War. New York: Norton, Read More