Vietnam War

Introduction

In the protracted, costly, and divisive Vietnam War, the communist administration of Vietnam nations fought against each other with the aid of the United States. The situation was made worse by the on-going Cold War but despite the fact that there had been persistent violence in the area for many years prior to the Vietnam War and American active involvement . The tragic nature of the conflict was exacerbated by the enormous socio-political and historical divide between the Americans and the Vietnamese, fueled by the resentment between mutually incomprehensible individuals. Therefore, analyzing the Vietnam war is crucial in determining the significance of certain entities such as Johnson and the likes in the Gulf of Tonkin, the various alterations faced by the nation’s citizens, and the negotiations effort at the year of Tenet.

The United States provided South Vietnam's adminstration and army with funding, equipment, and soldiers as a result of the country's division into a communist and a democratic. John Kennedy agreed to continue the military aid program when unrest between the assemblies led to a violent clash (Hall). The terms of this commitment included more money and weaponry, but the presence of American soldiers in the region represented a substantial change. Kennedy's growth was inclined to the "domino concept" of the Cold War era, which hypothesized that if communist won supremacy in Vietnam, it would overturn consensuses (Hall). Kennedy started the work, and Lyndon Johnson finished it after Kennedy was assassinated.

Following South Vietnam's political unrest, Johnson stepped up military and financial aid. This occurred after Johnson authorized the reprisal bombing of strategic forces in North Vietnam in response to DRV naval vessels attacking two U.S. warships in the Gulf of Tonkin (Hall). The Gulf’s Resolution, which granted Johnson widespread war-making power, was swiftly ratified by Congress, and the next year, American jets started shepherding frequent bombing assaults. The aim of the bombardment, which was not restricted to Vietnam, was to obstruct supplies entering that country via the Ho Chi Minh Trail and to stop the expansion of the communist troops in Laos (Hall). Thus, the Gulf of Tonkin showcased significance in the war initiative.

Impact of the Vietnam War

The Vietnamese territory and people suffered a significantly greater cost than other impacted parties due to the conflict. On both sides of the fight, many Vietnamese individuals, notably civilians and those not in the military, especially women and children in South Vietnam, were injured or killed. The bombing was mostly blamed for the deaths and devastation (Hall). The U.S. military dropped massive bombs during the Vietnam War, especially on rural South Vietnam. During the conflict, the U.S. military also dispersed thousands of gallons of defoliants and chemical agents that damaged or burnt South Vietnamese farms, woodlands, and other plants (Hall). Many villages in remote Southern Vietnam were forced to evacuate their homes as a result of the destruction of multiple farms and communities. A large number of these people fled to the urban centers, where they made a living anyway they could, frequently through illegal means (Hall). Due to the difficulty and anguish of the war years and its effects on Americans, Vietnamese homes, customs, and society underwent tremendous changes.

Negotiation attempts at Tet negations

Although the American people had been assured several times that there was a solution to the Vietnam War, the dispatch of some soldiers had not advanced the country's narrow political objectives, and there would soon be a clamor for significant fresh boosts in military deployments. Since the enemy had a strategic approach during the Vietnamese Tet year, the United States was effectively in a deadlock in Vietnam (Hall). It revealed the adversary's excellent cooperation, strategy, and bravery. There didn't seem to be a limit to the enemy's determination to fight forever (Hall). It became increasingly clear that no measure of military might be able to persuade North Vietnam to sit down for talks.

Work Cited

Hall, Mitchell K. “The Vietnam War.” Taylor and Francis Group, Mar. 2018, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315542874.