Why did the USA become involved in Vietnam in the1950’s & 1960’s
...ommunist. Vietnam represents a test of the USA’s responsibility and determination in South East Asia. If we are not the parents then we are the god-parents, we cannot abandon it or ignore it and if we do we will sink to a new low.” This was a widely held attitude in the USA and was one to the steps that lead to the USA’s growing involvement in the Indochinese region. The Conference agreed that Vietnam would be divided in half at its narrowest point; the 17th parallel and that elections would be held before 1956 to determine who held power. The USA did not agree to the Geneva Convention and so did not have to support it. The USA was afraid of loosing its reputation as a superpower and so tried to undermine the accords with subtle interference. The USA was now sure that Vietnam was a Cold War threat and increased its involvement in the regions political affairs. The USA accomplished this by instituting Diem as the president and trying to push his government as the most popular option. Other nationalist options were the Vietminh in the North or the French Vietnamese leadership but that was unsuccessful. Diem’s government however was corrupt and disorganised. Diem himself was politically incompetent and his advisors were not better. He surrounded himself with corruption, nepotism and Catholics. These were the opposite of the majority of the population whom were non-catholic. This lead to Diem’s government being weak and so the USA supported him with economic and military aid as they could see that otherwise Ho Chi Min would win. This was the finals step to the USA becoming so heavily involved in the war that they could not escape. When JFK’s died more than 1600 military ‘advisors’ had been sent to Vietnam. If the USA had instead chosen to withdraw troops at this time there would never have been a war and the outcome would have been the same. It was believed that JFK only kept the troops in Indochina due to pending election but this point is debateable. Linden Bones Johnson (LBJ) came to power. He increased support for the Diem government but when he saw that there was no way the USA could win and the aid being given to Vietnam started affecting his ‘Great society’ policy he resigned. He left with the decision to send more troops to Vietnam. LBJ however was at a disadvantage from the start he was left with JFK’s legacy and when the Ton kin Gulf incident occurred he saw it as an opportunity to get congress to give him total military control. In 1965 congress decided to give the President the right to wage war without conferring with the Congress. There decision would shape the way the war in Indochina escalated. The battle between the USA with its conventional tactics and the North Vietnamese with their guerrilla warfare continued. The USA was not making any advances in their aim of pacification and so they had to increase their involvement. The USA were disadvantaged, as there was never a frontline and had to face unpredictable traps. They also could not see the difference between the enemy and the civilian. The war was now not just a Cold War issue but also a large part of the USA’s pride; their credibility and reputation were at stake. The USA was now committed to the South Vietnamese government. For if the USA now pulled out how could their other all...