Notes:
United States goes to war in Vietnam and sets it up with the gulf of Tonkin incident
Subjective question:
What would have happened if Americans never fought in Vietnam
Quote:
"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" - JFK
- Originally a French colony (Indochina)
- Ho Chi Minh and his communist supporters resisted Japanese occupation during WWII
- After WWII the French reoccupied
- Ho Chi Minh fought the French and defeated them in 1954 (Dien Bien Phu)
- Laos, Cambodia granted independence
- Vietnam divided along the 17th parallel
- U.S. saw this as another situation in which containment was necessary (SEATO)
- The U.S. had supported the French (military advisors)
- Kennedy increased troops in 1962 from 500-10,000
- CIA overthrows Diem in 1963 (corruptness)
- A fabricated incident was set up; an American destroyer (USS Maddox) was torpedoed
- Led President Johnson to install the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
- Lead to the commitment of regular ground troops and air support
- 200,000 troops in 1965 - 600,000 in 1968
United States goes to war in Vietnam and sets it up with the gulf of Tonkin incident
Subjective question:
What would have happened if Americans never fought in Vietnam
Quote:
"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" - JFK