A Prolonged Civil Conflict Essay Research Paper

A Prolonged Civil Conflict Essay, Research Paper

The grounds why the Vietnam War lasted so long is a really controversial topic among Americans. There is no simple reply to as why the war lasted so long. Many factors have to be considered when analysing the war. The first factor that has to be considered is whether or non the U.S. truly belonged in the Vietnam War in the first topographic point. The initial ground that the U.S. became involved in Vietnam was because they thought that North Vietnam was traveling to Russia and China, which were communist states, for support. Because of the containment policy, the U.S. felt it had to support South Vietnam from communism. They thought that Russia was seeking to take over Europe and do it one Communist province. Herring says, The United States officially committed itself to he containment of Soviet enlargement in Europe, and throughout the following two old ages attending was riveted on France, where economic stagnancy and political instability aroused sedate frights of Communists coup d’etat ( 11 ) . However, all Ho and North Vietnam wanted was for their state to be reunited. For the Vietminh, fusion of their non merely delineated fulfilment of the centuries-old dream of Vietnamese patriots but besides was economic necessity ( 8 ) . The Vietminh asked the U.S. for support but because they thought that North Vietnam was influenced by Russia, the U.S. turned them down. It was non until subsequently that the Vietminh went to Mao Tse-tung s Chinese Communists for support out of desperateness. From the really beginning, the U.S. had attached itself to a losing cause ( 19 ) . Because the U.S. was obsessed with the Domino theory and a Communist menace in Southeast Asia, they became involved in and were partially to fault for protracting a civil struggle.

After the U.S. had ab initio become involved in Vietnam s civil struggle, they kept acquiring more and more involved. Besides several bomb raids the U.S. besides kept directing more and more military personnels into South Vietnam. The monolithic bomb foraies and the uninterrupted flow of military personnels into South Vietnam established the U.S. s policy ; they were willing to give full support to South Vietnam and fight in a war in order to halt the spread of communism. As Herring says, the U.S. besides insisted that an of import involvement had been established that had to be defended for the interest of U.S. credibleness throughout the universe ( 309 ) .

This leads to the 2nd factor to as why the war lasted so long. The U.S. s armed forces was non prepared to contend the sort of war that the Vietminh were contending. They were non used to he guerrilla warfare that T

he Vietminh used. Americans were trained to contend against monolithic onslaughts like the 1s in World War II and the Korean War, but that seldom happened. Alternatively they used the hunt and destruct methods against the guerrilla. This method did non work really good at all. The U.S. ne’er was able to take control of any land because once they came back from their mission the soldiers would travel back to base. This enabled the Vietminh to busy the really land that U.S. soldiers had merely searched and destroyed. This frustrated many military leaders. The lone manner they could state if they were winning the war or non was by organic structure counts. In the beginning Americans thought that they were winning the war, but by the terminal of the war it seemed as though no affair how many military personnels or how many bombardments America was directing to Vietnam nil was being won.

There are many sentiments about what the U.S. armed forces could hold done. Some think they should hold trained and armed the South Vietnam soldiers from the really get downing because they knew the local geographics much better that the American soldiers. Others think that the U.S. military should hold fought along the 17th analogue in order to insulate the North from the South. Another sentiment is that military leaders should hold examined the war more closely in order to explicate better schemes on how to win the sort of war that they were in. And in conclusion, some people think that if the U.S. would hold merely used its military power more rapidly, resolutely, and without limit the war could hold been over a batch Oklahoman.

However, one thing is being forgotten here. Although Ho may hold gotten aid from Russia and China what he still wanted more that anything was for Vietnam to be one state. Ho Chi Minh dedicated his life to the fusion of North and South Vietnam and he was willing to make anything to do it go on. He was besides a maestro organiser and determined revolutionists who was willing to use the most inhuman methods in the cause to which he dedicated his life ( 5 ) . Because Ho was such a great organiser, he was able to build a military base of revolution among the people of the northern states. Ho became a symbol of patriotism and the battle for freedom to the overpowering bulk of the population ( 12 ) .

The U.S. underestimated Ho s revolution. They got involved in a civil struggle which likely made the Vietnamese patriots even more determined to win. Because the U.S. thought they were forestalling the spread of communism, they ended up protracting a civil struggle, which ended up with tremendous homo costs.