Vietnam (1960-75)

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  • Created by: Taz_28
  • Created on: 17-06-18 14:27

Revision: The second Vietnam war 1960-1975 and American involvement 

August 1954: US National Security Council decided Vietnam Settlement represented "a major forward stride of communism which might lead to the loss of SE Asia" (seeing the conflict in Cold War terms) 

President Eisenhower agreed to aid the regime of Ngo Dinh Diem 

Facts about Diem's Regime 

  • Refused to hold reunification talks or hold elections promised under the terms of the Geneva agreement. 

  • Autocratic regime. 

  • Widespread corruption and nepotism 

  • Unfair distribution of wealth 

  • He had repressive policies (i.e.: towards Buddhists) 

  • He was associated with colonialism 

Effects of US Aid 

  • Regime increasingly relied on the aid for support no reform in order to build up local support. 

  • Economy distorted 

  • Little done for mass of the people 

November 1963: Diem assassinated country under military Gov. 

Diem's regime led to the formation in South Vietnam of the National Liberation Front (NLF) w/ both communist and non-communists. It was labelled as communist by Diem and the Americans. 

Causes of the Second Vietnam War 

  • Geneva Conference was only a partial solution to the problem. 

  • USA determined to stem the tide of communism in Asia. (Domino Theory) 

  • USA believed that communism in Indo China was part of the expansionist Chinese and Russian policies / The interest of both countries in the region was a proof that an anti-American plot was hatching. 

  • US failure to understand that the NLF rested more on nationalism then Marxism. 

  • American Chauvinism (US would triumph where France failed) 

  • Failure of Diem's regime to abide by Geneva Agreement. 

  • Corruption of Diem's regime. 

  • "Bipolar" view of the US which saw the conflict in terms of the Cold War. 

  • Strategic interest of the US in the Eastern Pacific. 

  • Vietnam was a Civil War (UN Charter forbade intervention) but US didn't see it so. 

Kennedy 1960-63 

May 1961: special anti-guerrilla forces sent to Vietnam 

US military determined policy with regard to Vietnam meant that a military solution was adopted to a political problem. 

Strategic Hamlets Programme 

Relocation of villages in South Vietnam, their fortification and imposing of a curfew. (to cut off guerrillas from the people. Disastrous b/c: 

  • Moving village to another location went against the Vietnamese religion which involved ancestor worship and the sacredness of burial grounds. 

  • Use of

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