Why was the United States unsuccessful in Vietnam?

Igor Mershon

The communist beliefs began in 1848, when Karl Marx and Friedrich Engelswrote a book called The Communist Manifesto. This book defined the beliefsof communism, along with portraying the natural evolution of a communistutopia from a capitalist society. Marx and Engels defined communism to bea concept, or system, of society in which the major resources and means ofproduction are owned by the community, rather than by the individuals. Intheory, such societies provide for equal sharing of all work, according toability, and all benefits, according to need. This, however, did not workbecause people are generally selfish and lazy. Each person wants to do theleast amount possible to gain the most from it. This is where theconflicts arise.

The Soviet Union began its communist regime under Vladimir Lenin. Hisideas and teachings led to mass popularity due to a poor economy in Russiaat the time. Lenin was not a bad leader, however he died before he wasable to see his plan take full effect. He had only one warning to thepeople of Russia: never to let Joseph Stalin get into power. Lenin wasable to foresee the tyrant when many others were blind. The people did notrealize their error when Stalin succeeded. But by then, it was too late;
Stalin had turned Russia into a fascist dictatorship.

During World War II, Communism, combined with fascism, had proven to bevery dangerous. The Communists saw their way to be perfect, and they hadthe idea that everyone should practice their beliefs. Communism had startedin Asia, with the likes of Joseph Stalin and Mao Tsetung. In the mid tolate nineteen forties, communism was thriving in Asia. The Chinese and the
Russians had pushed the spread of Communism south into countries such as
Cambodia and Vietnam. The United Stated saw this as a very real threat,and kept a close eye on the communist advancement.

Between 1945 and 1975, the number of countries under communist ruleincreased greatly. This is partly because of the way the victorious powersof World War II divided the world amongst themselves. This is also due tothe fact that countries such as China and The Soviet Union pushed theirbeliefs tyrannically on other weak countries.

One of such countries was Vietnam. . From 1946 until 1954, the Vietnamesehad struggled for their independence from France during the First Indochina
War. At the end of this war, the country was temporarily divided into Northand South Vietnam along the 17th parallel. North Vietnam came under thecontrol of the Vietnamese Communists who had opposed France and who aimedfor a unified Vietnam under Communist rule. Vietnamese who had collaboratedwith the French controlled the South.

The foreign policy of the United States during the Cold War was driven by afear of the spread of Communism. Eastern Europe had fallen under thedomination of the Communist USSR, and Communists ruled China. This policywas known as the "domino theory." United States policymakers felt theycould not afford to lose Southeast Asia as well to the Communists. The
United States therefore offered to assist the French in recapturing
Vietnam.

Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 8 to July 21, 1954, diplomats from
France, the United Kingdom, the USSR, China, and the United States, as wellas representatives from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, drafted a set ofagreements called the Geneva Accords. These agreements provided for thewithdrawal of French troops to the south of Vietnam until they could besafely removed from the country.

They also agreed that Elections were to be held in 1956 throughout thenorth and south and to be supervised by an International Control Commissionthat had been appointed at Geneva and was madeup of representatives from Canada, Poland, and India. Following theseelections, Vietnam was to be reunited under the government chosen bypopular vote. The United States refused to sign the accords, because it didnot want to allow the possibility of Communist control over Vietnam. The
U.S. government moved to establish the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
(SEATO), a regional alliance that extended protection to South Vietnam,
Cambodia, and Laos in case of Communist "subversion." SEATO, which cameinto force in 1955, became the mechanism by which Washington justified itssupport for South Vietnam; this support eventually became directinvolvement of U.S. troops.

On July 30, 1964, the government of North Vietnam complained that South
Vietnamese ships, protected by an American destroyer, had attacked two oftheir islands. On August 2, North Vietnamese patrol torpedo boats attackedthe American destroyer Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin but were driven off.
Five days later, on August 7, Congress adopted what became known as the
Tonkin Gulf Resolution. It stated that the President could "take allnecessary measures to repel any armed attack against armed forces of the
United States and to prevent further aggression. "The Vietnam War hadbecome Americanized. Following the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, North Vietnambegan infiltrating regular army units into South Vietnam. In the mean time,the President Johnson and his advisors decided that the United Statesshould bomb North Vietnam and send troops into South Vietnam.

The North Vietnamese fought the guerrillas war. They hid in undergroundtunnels and in jungles. In an effort to destroy the jungles the United
States sprayed huge quantities of toxic chemicals on the countryside. Itcaused mass starvation and birth defects in Vietnamese children, as well asto liver damage,muscular disorders, and other health problems for the adults who wereexposed to the chemicals. By 1966 many Americans were beginning to haveserious doubts about the nation's growing

involvement in Vietnam. Without the support of their fellow Americans athome, it became increasingly difficult for soldiers at war to fighteffectively. The anti-war attitude and the atrocious treatment ofreturning veterans, made young men much more likely to evade the draft. Inthe event that they ended up Vietnam, they would fight less effectively dueto the fact that they did not support the cause they were fighting for.
Undermining of the war by activists at home continued to increase with theincrease in American casualties. This problem is best described by Robert
McNamara, Secretary of Defense under both Kennedy and Johnson: "A nation'sdeepest strength lies not in its military prowess, but rather, in the unityof its people. We [America] failed to maintain it. "[1] Without this vitalunity, it was a near impossible task for America to win the war. As
America became increasingly divided between anti-war activists and thosewho supported the war, soldiers became increasingly disillusioned withtheir role in the war. The soldiers realized that perhaps what they werefighting for was not a just cause. The moral high ground held by soldiersat the beginning of the war began to slip as more and more soldiersrealized that they did not truly believe in they were fighting for. Thiscoupled with low morale that resulted from the fashion that new recruitswere placed into combat secured the North Vietnamese victory.

Also there is the low morale and lack of combat effectiveness resultingfrom poor command of the Army's resources. One mismanagement that resultedin dire consequences for America was the fashion in which new recruits wereintroduced into the war. Instead of sending brand-new squads that hadtrained together, individual soldiers were sent to fill the space left by asoldier who had just been killed or injured. For theveteran soldiers, the new recruits served as reminders of fallen friends,and thus were never truly accepted into the unit. With this being theattitude of many soldiers, it was very difficult for a sort of esprit decorps to develop. The lack of comradely severely hampered the fightingability of thearmy as a whole. The detrimental effects resulting from the lack ofteamwork (around which every army needs to be based) were furtherconfounded by a lack of commitment to the war it had become involved.

Involvement in Vietnam was increased in very incremental fashion. "
Some ... have criticized the Government's ... gradual force buildup ... in lieuof striking the enemy with full force. "[2] Had the Government completelycommitted itself to the war, it may not have degenerated into a lengthydefeat from a decisive victory. The amount of firepower America could havebrought to bear would have been near impossible to stand against. While itis easy to theorize the outcome of the war had the full might of the
American Army been brought to bear at once, it is much more difficult forone to judge the reaction of the South Vietnamese people to an Americanvictory.

Finally, and most important, the support given by the South Vietnamese wasa deciding factor in the outcome of the war. It is logical that thesupport of those one is trying to liberate is required for liberation

to be achieved. This is something that was, in part, lacking during the
Vietnam War. A stable government was never established in South Vietnam,and therefore the people of the south did not feel that they had somethingworth fighting for. This opened a gulf between the Americans and the
Vietnamese as described in the following:
"The Vietnamese people saw the Americans as perpetrators of the suffering

Which the war had brought ... the American soldiers did not want to know < p> The Vietnamese, but wanted only to use them for menial labor, self-
Gratification, and often as scapegoats for the frustrations and anger they felt

Against the enemy and the war ... America gave them nothing and expected
Loyalty in return. The Vietnamese people saw only one side of the American

People and the United States and most often it was the worst side. "[3]

The lack of support from those the Americans were trying to save, coupledwith increasing anti-war protest at home, created a climate unsuitable forwinning the war. This situation only worsened as the war progressed up to
American withdrawal and the eventual fall of Saigon. The final outcome ofthe war was inevitable without the full support of the South Vietnamesepeople.
Eventually, the United States had no choice but to withdraw and leave thewar to the South Vietnamese. Even as the fall of Saigon was imminent,
America would not re-enter the war despite the mass amounts of money andhuman life spent in an attempt to halt the spread of communism.

In conclusion, the most important factor in deciding the outcome of the
Vietnam War was the lack of support that came both from South Vietnam andfrom activists at home. Billions of dollars and thousands of lives weresacrificed for a cause that was lost from the start: the liberation of apeople who did not want the American brand of freedom being offered. Thewar left behind an embarrassing legacy as well as deep wounds that have yetto heal even today. Many veterans were left disillusioned as they returnedhome to be treated as villains rather than heroic defenders of freedom.
Casualties were suffered even by those who did not fight in Vietnam, asprotestors were shot at Kent State University. The United States haddrastically altered its image throughout the world, driving away her alliesas a result of the war. In a war without support, "an entire American armywas sacrificed on the battlefield of
Vietnam "[4] and" it will be at least a generation before. Vietnam 'willmean anything but a war of agony, frustration, and humiliation. "[5]

Bibliography:
1) Colby, William. Lost victory. Markham: Beaverbooks, 1989.

2) Fulbright, J. William, The Arrogance of Power. Random House, Inc., 1966
3) McNamara, Robert S. In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam.
Toronto:

Random House of Canada Limited, 1995.

4) Stanton, Shelby L. The Rise and Fall of an American Army: US Ground
Forces in Vietnam.

Novato: Presidio Press, 1985.

5) Welsh, Douglas. The History of the Vietnam War. Greenwich: Bison Books
Corp, 1981
6) William A. Link et al., American Epoch: A History of the United Statessince 1900 Affluence and

Anxiety 1940-1992,
Volume II (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993)
7) Winthrop D. Jordan. The Americans. Illinois: McDougal Littell/Houghton
Miffin Inc., 1996

-----------------------< br>[1] McNamara, Robert S. In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam.
(Toronto:

Random House of Canada Limited, 1995) p.322
[2] Colby, William. Lost victory. (Markham: Beaverbooks, 1989) p.362

[3] Welsh, Douglas. The History of the Vietnam War. (Greenwich: Bison
Books Corp, 1981) p.188

[4] Stanton, Shelby L. The Rise and Fall of an American Army: US Ground
Forces in Vietnam.

(Novato: Presidio Press, 1985) p.368
[5] Welsh, Douglas. The History of the Vietnam War. (Greenwich: Bison
Books Corp., 1981) p.189