Exploring the Reasons for United States Involvement in...

Exploring the Reasons for United States Involvement in Vietnam 1. US involvement in Vietnam The US wanted to stop communist expansion into South Vietnam after successfully stopping them from capturing South Korea but President Eisenhower could not get the support of the people. Therefore he used a different way i.e. sending a team of 12 intelligence agents under Colonel Edward Lansdale to win over the South Vietnamese people by spreading lies about the Ho Chi Minh government killing political opponents and the presence of Chinese communists in South Vietnam. Besides that colonel Lansdale also employed mercenaries to sabotage North Vietnam and boost up the image of President Diem. They also†¦show more content†¦About 1,200 of Diems officials were murdered. 2) Le Duan, Ho Chi Minhs adviser advocated the formation of armed resistance. Ho Chi Minh agreed to aid the guerrilla units. These became the National Front for the liberation of South Vietnam (NLF). With Hua Tho as its leader. 3) NLF 10-piont programmes include:- a) Catholic denominated Diems government to be replaced with representatives of all social classes and religions. b) Land for the peasants. This resulted in the peasants helping the guerrillas against the government. 2. A) President Kennedy intended to carry on with his predecessors policy of supporting Diems South Vietnam government as he believed in the Domino Theory. The full of South Vietnam world lead to the fall of Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Philippines, New Zealand and Australia. Kennedy increased aid to South Vietnam to enable them to increase the strength of their army from 150,000 to 170,000. He also increased the number of military advisers by 100 in order to train South Vietnam army. In 1962 the Strategic Hamlet programme was introduced. B) The Strategic Hamlet programme was implemented to keep the peasants from being influenced by the NLF. The peasants were moved intoShow MoreRelatedExploring Reasons Behind United States Involvement in Vietnam3702 Words   |  15 PagesExploring Reasons Behind United States Involvement in Vietnam The involvement of the USA was not a sudden event; it was a gradual slide into war that began with financial support of the French to regain power of Vietnam. After World War II, the Vietminh were very quick to replace the Japanese in Vietnam, and by September 1945, Ho Chi Minh announced that it was an independent, democratic republic. But the French also wanted to regain power of Vietnam and by March 1946Read MorePublic Sentiment Regarding the Vietnam War1111 Words   |  5 Pagesdemocrats within the legislative branch turned against Johnson’s war. Scholar’s conflict on the reason why Johnson’s own party turned against him, some scholars attribute it to the growing number of antiwar constituents, while other scholars such as E.M. 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