Why was the vietnam war so long? Why was it? who let it go on so long?

Answer 1

When the Germans defeated France in '40, the Japs took Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh began a group to fight the Japs and the French. The US supported him. Yes, you read that right.

After WWII Truman switched sides and aided the French. The French insisted on keeping South Vietnam and let Ho keep the North.

Truman and then Ike sent military advisors to aid the South.

The North Vietnamese kicked the French's *** at Diem Biem Phu and the French packed up and left. There were supposed to be elections in '62 but the South cancelled theirs.

Kennedy doubled the number of military advisors and got the CIA actively involved in sabotage efforts in the North.

There was no support for the Diem government in S. Vietnam and ultimately there was a coup - with JFK's support - to replace him with an American puppet.

LBJ put the first actual combat troops in place, ultimately bringing the number to 500,000.

Despite the fact that we weren't really wanted in the South, we managed to hold the North off largely through bombing campaigns.

LBJ stopped bombing in '68 and the North Vietnamese were able to bring supplies and troops closer to the border.

Nixon inherited a lost cause but didn't want to just resolve to defeat, also he had to reduce troop strength by 2/3 and he ended the draft in '71, but he increased the bombing, bombed the communists' supply lines in Cambodia and Laos, bombed Hanoi, and endeavored to "Vietnamize" the South's resistance - ultimately he got a peace treaty signed in '73. South Vietnam managed to hold out for close to another two years.

Why did it last so long? Because we kept pouring money and men into it.

Why did it start? Not sure really - Ho called himself a communist but wasn't allied with Russia or, at first, China, though he sought their backing after we abandoned him. Truman's dead so he can't tell you what was going through his mind.

What gets me is that people seem to recall this as being a conservative or Republican war and the facts just don't support that. The Democrats started it and escalated it. The record is quite clear on that. Nixon did NOT escalate it - he had to reduce troop commitment by tens of thousands every month and he ended the draft. Nixon got the best peace deal possible and he consistently de-escalated the war until getting that peace deal, "escalating" only the bombings and doing them with better planes - i.e., there was more achieved but with fewer resources.

I also get a little p.o.'d at the people who suggest that Pol Pot was NIXON'S fault - - Pol Pot proves the Domino theory correct - we failed to stop communism in Vietnam, it spread to Cambodia and 2 million more people were killed. Maybe that's not a justification for our involvement and maybe the theory was overstated in that they said it would be Thailand, Burma, Laos and Indonesia too, but the fact remains we failed to stop its advance and it spread beyond 'Nam.

Answer 2

Because the Military/Industrial complex of America rules our nation ~~~ they are the wealthy business owners of this nation. They pay the money to elect our leaders so they 'call the ball' on everything.

Any doubt look how many men and women were in power during that war.

It started with President Kennedy sending "military advisers" to the country which in no time at all added foot soldiers. He had our CIA murder the Diem brothers who ruled the country at the time.

Turn around and President Johnson increased our forces there ~~~ then Nixon, then Ford.

Finally, when the populous had enough we turned tail and ran.

Throughout all of this our Democratic and Republican lawmakers did as they were told and kept financing the project.

WE HAVE GOT TO FIND A WAY TO GET MONEY OUT OF OUR ELECTION PROCESS.

The only thing I can think of is to have a free station on cable for every serious candidate for any office who say, has a backing of a million registered voters.

This goes for everybody from mayor to president and all in between.

Answer 3

It lasted as long as we were willing to hold out. The war was about holding off the communists, who proceded to force the whole population of south vietnam into camps and "re-educate" them. Milions were killed in these camps.
That is why we were there, to protect the south vietnamese people from the communists, and we gave up on them and now millions of them are dead.

Answer 4

Dow Chemical, COlt Arms, General Dynamics, Boeing and so on bought off LBJ, the bigges crook in government, and he kept sending troops to the meat grinder, 10 times as many as Bush has done. Nixon was drunk and irrational and did not have advisors with a good set, and Ho Chi Minh knew that he could wear us down. Ho was willing to sacrifice a million people, Ho knew that the public in America would cry and moan if one soldier were killed. Sounds like today.

Answer 5

the usual suspects,dems/libs,not allowing are military to win,and then forcing their first defeat,and preparing to force another defeat on are military,to aid their allies the muslims,much as they aided their allies the communist in Vietnam,like the Spartans,a traitor liberal politicians,refusing to send reinforcements to the front,i.e.,cut funding sound familiar!

Answer 6

ask a defeatocrat...it was a dem that got us there it was a dem president that lied about the gulf of tonkin incident..it was a republican that got us out..nuff said

Answer 7

GREED.