How did the US become involved in Southeast Asia?

Answer 1

We were trying to help Democratic nations resist the tide of the red menace

Answer 2

Your best source is "The Pentagon Papers"--a secret study by the Rand Corp. (commissioned by the U.S. government). They were given full access to government documents in order to write a history of U.S. involvement in Indochina.

In this, you will find that when the U.N. turned Indochina back over to the French after WW II (Indochina was a French colony prior to the outbreak of WW II), Ho Chi Minh took up arms against the French (since the U.S. voted in the U.N. to return Indochina to the French who, by the way, were terrible colonial rulers).

It was a secret that the U.S. was underwriting 80% of the cost (of the French fightiing in Indochina) by the fall of Diem Bien Phu in 1952.

The Treaty of Paris of 1954 divided Indochina into four countries--North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, AND called for elections to be held in South Vietnam within a year. The U.S. figured that South Vietnam would vote to unite with North Vietnam. So the CIA entered, stopped the election from being held, and installed Ngo Diem in power. Diem was a French educated, pro-French dictator--probably the worst possible choice to lead South Vietnam!

People in South Vietnam began to rise up against Diem and were supplied with arms from the Communist North Vietnam, so we, natuarally, were supporting the South.

And away it went, on and on.

Answer 3

It's a long story, but the bottom line is that we were trying to contain Communism.

Answer 4

Frenchies needed help in Vietnam!

Answer 5

the french asked for our help then picked up and left us with the mess