Vietnam Exam 2

Rolling Thunder

• After the Tonkin Gulf Resolution + VC attacks on the South → Johnson orders for Rolling Thunder 

• 3 years of bombing the North and some areas of the South

  • Stop VC from infiltrating South (failed)

  • Help morale and give Saigon a break

• Marines sent to protect air bases = increase in troops

Domino Theory

• Dien Bien Phu Loss → Eisenhower believed that if Vietnam fell to communism, others would too

• Made US leaders fear a spread, meaning continued US involvement

Geneva Accords

• After France lost at Dien Bien Phu

• Agreements ending the First Indochina War between France and the Viet Minh.

• Vietnam divided at the 17th parallel → nationwide reunification elections soon

• Stopped France from regaining control

• US + SV did not sign = claim they were not bound by its decisions

  • Set the stage for a larger US and SV involvement

Passage to Freedom

• After Geneva Accords, millions of Catholic Vietnamese moved from North to South due to US propaganda:

  • “Christ has gone South” to Diem

  • Claim Viet Minh committed atrocities against Catholics

• Religious bias shaped U.S. support for Diem/Catholics and discriminated over Buddhists

Tonkin Gulf Controversey

• During Johnsons presidency

• USS Maddox attacked

• 2nd attack reported (probably didn’t happen)

• U.S. patrols were supporting SV raids

  • Johnson administration misrepresented the relationship between these operations and the attacks to Congress.

• Tonkin Gulf Resolution: Increase military engagement

• Deception: They had approved large military authority on a misleading account, which escalated the war

Massive Retaliation vs Flexible Response

• Massive retaliation: Eisenhower and Dulles used nuclear threat to deter comm

• Flexible response: Kennedy used range of military options, including conventional forces and counterinsurgency

  • Easier to intervene in a limited, unconventional war

  • Increased US commitment of troops and spending

• Flexible response gave presidents more ways to intervene in Vietnam, but it also facilitated growing American commitments without guaranteeing military or political success.

Intro

• Geneva conference was best time to exit becuase it provided an opportunity before:

  • Commiting more resources

  • Continuing to back an unstable government

Body 1: French-Viet Minh War

• France no longer had control

• GA split Vietnam + reunification election

• US could have used this as an opportunity to sign, withdraw, and put effort into turning election towards SV leaders

• Instead, they refused, drawing the US into a larger conflict against North Vietnam, china, and the USSR

Body 2: Herring - US Contribution to SV Army

• US took responsability for defending SV

• Herring mentions that US provided assistance, training, and development for the SV army

  • US role was expnading beyond financial support

• Could have backed out before committing, troops, money, resources and taking too much responability

Body 3: Diem’s Government

• By defending South, US was also sticking up for Diem’s regime

• Diem’s regime became weakend by incidents such as disrupting a peacful buddhist protest

  • Created opposition within the South

  • Outrage among US citizens