Why did the US "lose" the Vietnam war?

Question

I'm working on a term paper and am exploring this question. How could the US, a dominant superpower, lose a war in a tiny country like Vietnam? My theory is that the loss was not of a military nature so much as it was political in nature. I'm in the early stages of research, but would appreciate some perspective on the issue.

Answer 1

We did commit to full scale war, we would and could have won at lease to an extent. No country has ever beat a insurgency, look at the Algerian conflict; are you aware the Israelis had fought a guerrilla war against the English (and won); the Vietnamese did against the French and won. One cannot beat them. It is too bad that at Appomattox, Lee choice against splitting up and conducting one. We could have and were beating the Vietnamese, if we had not had our hands tied we could have bombed Haiphong Harbor, Laos, Cambodia. I sincerely believe knowing us that by now the country would have voted and gone Communist. Does this confuse you? Ask me more specific questions at [e-mail]. God Bless you and the Southern People.

Answer 2

No clear goal

Letting the enemy dictate the way battles were fought

Underestimating the enemy

Trying to fight guerrillas with conventional forces, in a conventional manner

Setting rules of engagement so that the enemy would win certain parts of the conflict, such as only allowing bombers to approach Hanoi along one route

Not thinking that the Vietnamese would get assistance from other countries

Not having a clear American interest to defend

Not conducting a propaganda war, against an enemy that was conducting a propaganda war

Not letting the military conduct the war. President Johnson ultimately was in the position of authorizing every military move. He should have arrived at goals, and then appointed a general to carry them out, and fired the general if he didn't do his job

Answer 3

1) They were fighting aThird World birth rate, the Viet Cong soldiers were being born faster than they could kill them.
2) The government would not let the military fight the war, there was too much government say in military matters.
3)Both China and The U.S.S.R. were supplying the Viet Cong.
4) Ideology, the enemy believed in what they were doing, the Americans did not.
5) The Viet Cong fought differently than we did. The methods used were horrendous by American standards.
6) The enemy was unknown, the people you talked too during the day may have been the people trying to kill you at night.

This information comes from books, T.V., and actual accounts of vets. I hope this helps you.
For the record I am not a Viet Nam vet.

Answer 4

keep researching america doesnt win wars it just participates mostly and if you look hard enough most are not wars but interventions for $$$$$$...is hard to win those

Viet Nam? By all accounts the U.S. was winning that war on the battlefield too, yet we withdrew our forces in 1973 and funding for the South Vietnamese in 1975 after a failure of political will allowed a feckless Congress to renege on promises made to our former ally. Here, too, a message was sent to a waiting world. Though the United States is arguably the greatest superpower, a clever and militarily inferior opponent need only outlast our ephemeral national will to defeat us.

Answer 5

You're right, the US military did not lose the war in Vietnam! By 1970. Richard Nixon had decided to start turning the war back to the RVN army! Somewhat like what we are doing today in Iraq, with the US training the Iraqi army and then trying to get them to take over more responsibility, from the US military. Sorry, I digress!

Gradually, American units were being withdrawn, and RVN troops
were sent in to replace them. 1970.

This war was escalated by Lyndon Johnson and his alter ego Robert MacNamara, after the death of JFK. Johnsons excuse for sending in troops was to protect the S.Vietnamese democracy from being run over by the ever expanding threat of communism. 1965.

Following thr TET offensive in 1968, and the horrific loss of troops (90,000) suffered by the communists, the Americans had the war, all but won. However, it was then that Johnson decided to stop supporting the military effort, and instead, switched to a diplomacy effort. Johnson left General Westmoreland hanging, just when victory was in sight. When Westmoreland asked for additional troops to help with mopping up following Tet, it was denied. Johnson then announced that he would send a diplomatic mission to Paris, to meet with the N.Vietnamese delegation there.

Richard Nixon took over the white house in Janruary, 1969. His campaign message was to end the war, however, he actually expanded the war with carpet bombing of Cambodia, where the N.Vietnamese were staging troops and war materials.

It wasn't until 1975, that the last of the American troops, and a few Vietnamese supporters were air lifted out of the American Embassy in Saigon, and the war ended in a very unceremonious fashion. Thus, the image of the American military vacating a lost cause.

Ho Chi Mein was the leader of the Vietnamese government in Hanoi, he was also the leader of the N.Vietnamese army and the Viet Cong. These were the armies the US was fighting. 1965 - 1975

Ho Chi Mein was an ally of the US during WWII. When that war broke out Vietnam was a French colony. Following the war, Ho Chi mein asked the US to help them, because they did not want to return to Colonialism. The US, in it's infinite lack of wisdom, denied Ho Chi Mein's request for help! Instead it supported the French in their attempt to regain their colony. The French were defeated in 1955. 1945 - 1955

A renegade government formed in the south, opposed to Ho Chi Mein's communist regime. The US offered support to this regime, for no other reason than because it opposed communism. Under JFK, it expanded, by the US sending advisors to help the S.Vietnamese develop and train it's army. Unfortunately, JFK was assasinated, and Johnson took over. The rest is history! 1960 - 1963

I have offered you some key incidents that occured, however the time frame of these events covers a thirty year period. Unfortuneately, the events are not in any particular order. For that, I apologize! If i had more time, I would correct that, however it might be a good learning project for you to format this information in it's proper order. That is, if you find it worth while information.

Answer 6

Why did the states got through an unequal power war in vietnam...that was because capitalists has 2 gaols.The first is to be safe from the countries which is strongly governed be the peoples and the second is to take a resource and a marcket share for all their products including the weapons they made to sell to kill people....their is an arabian poem by abu elkassem elshabby which says...if the people once wanted life ,so the fate should obey and the night should go and the robes should be brocken....................THE answer is the willpower of the peoples is always the last to win............read histories allover the world........................Dr sherif lanson khalil of Egypt

Answer 7

Because the government and the military high command made to many bad decisions. The war was winnable, but the high command and govt. was to worried about politics to let the Marines and Soldiers fight the way they should have been able to. Too many restrictions. For example, they couldn't pursue the enemy into Laos and Cambodia. The high command was thinking way to conventionally in an extremely unconventional fight. Some aspects of the war, especially the unconventional small units like the L.R.R.P's, were extremely effective. If the high command would have used the tactics developed by small units, the outcome would have been far different.

Answer 8

The loss had a greater military nature. I will give you some points on it:

1)The Soviet Russia (which had by then turned capitalistic through a counter revolution in 1953)and the communist Chinese bloc created political pressure on the US.

2)The Chinese bloc supplied arms and ammunition to the Vietcong.

3)The communists had the support of the masses.

4)The US military had much poorer knowledge of the local geographical conditions of Vietnam.

5)The US marines made themselves widely unpopular when they murdered innocent people, raped girls and looted homes right before the eyes of the commoners.

6)The Vietcong followed the modern tactics of communistic guerilla warfare, which are practically invincible at any place.

7)The methods of attacking through tunnels ,and mine-warfare were widely implemented by the Vietcong.

8)The weapons looted from the US marines were later used in
further attacks by the Vietcong.

9)The Vietcong had succeeded in organising guerilla zones behind the enemy lines.

10)The Vietnamese people were inspired by the greatest feeling of patriotism, while the US marines were just eager to return home , and in the last few years of the war, just ran away at the sight of guerillas.

Answer 9

We did not lose the Vietnam War. Your questions are leading questions for a preconceived response. After you have reviewed the politics, the history, and interviewed some veterans, you will not have a cut and dry answer. Everyone has an answer. But, no one has the right answer. Good luck and try to have an open mind.

Answer 10

First off, the Gulf of Tonkin was a fabricated incident so that the United States had an excuse to go to vietnam and fight. Secondly i think that the Vietcongs fighting tactics were somethign that the US could not prepare for in such a densly wooded area. The Vietcongs underground tunnel system was so unique and complex that it gave them a safe haven from snipers and most ground troops. Which definitly led to a Vietnamese "victory"