The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a horrific experience in which many noble and heroic people lost their lives. Many people have searched for answers as to why it happened. It was not just one person’s fault. It was not Eisenhower’s for initiating tensions early, it was not Kennedy’s for not stopping the war early, and it was not Johnson’s for sending troops there. It was not one person but it was one administration’s fault for the loss in Vietnam and so many soldiers. Nobody else is to blame as much as the Johnson administration. Johnson and his Cabinet members’ overwhelming stress over the “domino” effect, their inexperience about Southeast Asia, stubbornness to pull out, and their stupidity over strategy and how to progress were the main reasons for United States defeat in Vietnam.
The threat of Vietnam began during the Eisenhower administration. It did not seem to be a major crisis, but what began as a minor inconvenience turned into a massive catastrophe. The growing threat of Vietnam became evident towards the end of Eisenhower’s presidency and he was glad to give it to someone else and to no longer have to deal with it. He left this complicated problem to the youngest and most inexperienced president, John F. Kennedy.
“When John F. Kennedy became president, we faced a complex and growing crisis in Southeast Asia with sparse knowledge, scant experience, and simplistic assumptions. As time passed, we came to recognize that the problems plaguing South Vietnam and its embattled leader, Ngo Dinh Diem, were far more complicated than we initially perceived. And we remained divided over how to deal with them” (McNamara 29).

The United States’ decision to go to war was one filled with controversy and disagreement. The United States involvement prior to entering Vietnam was very suspicious and was kept quiet from the public. Many of the reasons for involvement were outrageous and misleading. The government
“operated under two premises that ultimately...

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