can u give me some ideas on the vietnam war?

Question

im doing a report on it

Answer 1

Tara - get a copy of Frances Fitzgerald's fantastic book, "Fire in the Lake." Look up "The Pentagon Papers" online and read about them. Look up an obscure song named "Tom Dooley" and explore the role of the Catholic church in promoting greater US involvement in Vietnam under Kennedy. (It happened, I was there, this isn't a goofy anti-Catholic conspiracy theory.) There's LOTS more but this will give you a very interesting perspective and you'll do a GREAT paper.

EDIT:

Panacea is absolutely full of weak water. I had to dash off my answer before, and now wish to add to it.

The U.S. got into Vietnam as a result of broken promises made during WWII. In 1944, agents of the Office of Strategic Services - forerunner of today's CIA - parachuted into northern Vietnam. The former French colony, handed over to the Axis by the Vichy government, was occupied by Japan. The OSS agents met with a young Ho Chi Mihn and promised American aid both during the war and after if the Viet Mihn, the resistance against first colonial France and then colonial/imperialist Japan, would commit acts of sabotage. As much as possible the Allies wanted to cripple Viet supplies of raw rubber and use of ports and airfields to the Jpanaese.

In 1946 France decided to reclaim its former colony, although the Japanese were still running the country under Allied supervision. The US chose to abandon the nationists under Ho and back the French. The result was the beginning of the Vietnam war.

In 1954 the French were decisively defeated at Dien ben Phu. Ultimately the country was split in two, a la Korea, by an armistice commission that crafted the "Geneva Accords" signed in 1956. The U.S. chose to sponsor South Vietnam as a bulwark against the Communist-supported North. From this point forward, the war was a "proxy war" of forces supported by the US and the Chinese and Russian Communist states.

In the late 1950's President Eisenhower began strengthening Southern forces and sending larger numbers of American "advisors" to the South.

Shortly after John F. Kennedy was elected, a propaganda campaign began in the U.S. It was endorsed by the Catholic Church, concerned over the very large number of communicants, priests and nuns targeted by the pro-Communist or openly Communist northerners. The north had launched a terror campaign in the south to weaken resolve and force support for the guerrilla Viet Mihn forces, and this included targeting village leaders, religious leaders of many faiths, intellectuals, and civic personalities that urged resistance. A CIA operative named Tom Dooley, an irish Catholic, toured the US giving lectures on the brutalities of this war and emphasizing the awful things done especially to Catholics. Oddly enough, at the same time a popular folk group had recorded an old American folk song, "Tom Dooley," that helped with his name identification - even though the song was about a fellow who murdered his girlfriend and hanged for it.

American Catholics, energized by Kennedy's election and exceptionally strong anti-Communists, flooded the White House with calls for intervention. Sermons were preached at Sunday masses about it.

Kennedy responded by inserting entire US military units into Vietnam, sending much more material support, and looking at the role of Communist insurgents in neighborhing Laos. The war expanded.

However, in the latter days of his time in office, Kennedy began taking a realistic look at US involvement. The "domina theory" had been propounded but close analysis showed it was not necessarily based on reality. Further, the President knew that cracks had show up in the communist "monolithic bloc" - that Russia and China were falling out. Vietnam was becoming an expensive way to divide them, and the US appeared to be more involved in a civil war than a genuine attempt at blocking Communist expansion. If Vietnam fell to the North, it was reasoned, it was neither a threat to US interests nor something the US could actually do without waging war against China. Some still speculate that Kennedy's intentions to draw back from the conflict had a lot to do with his assassination.

In any event, by 1964 Kennedy was dead and Lyndon Johnson decided to increase the draft and increase the forces in Indochina. This proved to be the beginning of the end although it took more than 10 more years to reach a conclusion.

Nixon won re-election on a promise to end the war - and then expanded it. The nation exploded in protest yet again.

Vietnam proved the end of America's natural patrimony - the country expended the last of its cheap, easily-used natural resources on war. The economy was ruined for decades. The American arrogance and self-importance in Vietnam was the country's undoing. People who say that traitors handed over the South to the North do NOT know the history and do NOT understand the events and consequences of this war. It was a terrible mistake driven largely by pride and hubris. The protestors, time has painfully shown, were RIGHT all along.

Please do look up some of the texts recommended. This was a very important event in the nation's history, a painful and costly experience, and today people like that *** Geroge W. Bush intend to ignore the lessons. he faked his way through the war, the lying coward, and never reported for duty. He should at least honor the blood of our lost brethren and try to learn but frankly the man is too arrogant and ignorant to even try.

Answer 2

Actually, most teachers that I've had like when you attack the issues. And the Vietnam War has lots of issues to attack.

1. Why did the U.S. go? The reasons said was to stop the "spread" of communist, prevent the "domino effect" (if one nation falls to communism, another will fall after another)...Vietnam was like a thorn in the Capitalist's side, that a little country would choose communism, over capitalism. Well, probably the reason is the idea of Communism is the oppressed (poor) people, rising up & taking down the man (rich) and creating a new, classless society, where everything belongs to everyone. Since almost everyone in Vietnam were in poverty, this was an appealing choice of leadership, although its application proved to have many problems. So, the U.S. attacked. It was a conservative, or Rebublican idea to attack...although it was escalated by Democrats.

2. Why did the war continue? Politics! The Rebublicans started the war, but Democrats...in fear of looking "weak on communism" to Republicans, escalated the war...seeking a "forced peace". Plus, using made up attack used to excuse reason to escalate the war under LBJ.."Gulf of Tonkin Attacks". It wasn't until the end of "The Liberal Era", that Nixon was able to pull us out of Vietnam.

3. What were strategic failures in Vietnam? The military used a Western warfare approach to an Eastern nation. They used airstrikes...hoping to bomb & "force" peace out of the nation...but this was a predominantly poor, agricultural jungle-terrain country. Most people lived on farms or hid in the jungle when the airstrikes came. They couldn't squeeze blood from a turnip...The Vietnamese people had nothing, so they really couldn't "force" anything from them.

I'd attack any of these issues...Just cite your sources and make justifiable conclusions...that makes a fine report. Here's some to get you started:

Answer 3

The vietnam war was all about how traitors in this country manipulated things politically to allow the communists in Vietnam to cruelly put to death millions of people as part of a genocide.

That is the truth about Vietnam. Although documenting exactly what happened in meticulous detail would make for a fascinating and important piece of work, I highly recommend that you not do this and instead paraphrase whatever the encyclopedia has to say about Vietnam instead. Why? Because those same traitors with their hands so steeped in the blood of millions, now work in your school system. They will punish you for telling the truth. This is an important thing to know about high school and college in order to successfully complete both without being attacked by evil people who want to replace your education with indoctrination into marxism. After you finish school, however, their ability to hurt you disappears. On that day, feel free to denounce these monsters at every turn. Allow them no peace and no quarter.

Why is this relevant today? Because they are trying to do it again.

Answer 4

I was there for that one. It was pretty similar to the current war. Too many GIs died as a result of political egos. That's the impression I was always left with. This doesn't help your report any, but I'm sure if you use vietnam as a keyword you'll come up with a wealth of ideas.

Answer 5

Talk about what lead up to it, i.e. the French Colonial period. Then talk about the north-south split, how the French were defeated, and find quotes and events from both sides of the war, as well the the American side. Finally, talk about the social unrest it caused in this country which led eventually to the American withdrawal.

Answer 6

Um...it was a war in Vietnam where people died and some came home

Answer 7

nicely I did 2 voluntary excursions for the duration of that conflict, and "no longer triumphing" it had no longer something to do with the "nature" of the conflict; nor did it ever at each time pass my ideas that we wouldnt win it! It became the the politics and many times"one-sided" information reporting at that element that lost that conflict! i could advise you ask the interior of reach library for a e book written by Robert S. McNamara, former Secretary of protection for the period of the Vietnam conflict and the Kennedy Johnson presidencies.

Answer 8

its a war the U.S army kill the vietnam,s and say they lost