Why did the US policy of containment fail in Vietnam

US military tactics

• intense bombing of military → ho chi minh trails, operation rolling thunder

• Search and destroy

• Chemical weapons, agent orange and napalm

• conscription

innocent vietnamease were being killed in the process

alienated the vietnamese and pushed them to support the viet cong

tactics backfired and resulted in US troops being killed

media backlash at brutality

tet offensive and my lai

• tet offensive- jan 1968, viet cong attacked over 100 cities and tried to take over US embassy in saigon

• My lai massacre- 300/400 innocent vietnamease civilians had been killed in a search and destroy mission, no viet cong killed

media coverage in my lai showed the brutality of the war and the killing of innocent people, increased the US and global opposition to war

tet offensive led to the belief that the war could not be won- despite the US spending all their money on the war, the viet cong launched a suprise attack, increased public oppositionn

viet cong tactics

• guerilla warfare- worked in small groups to attack US, then dissapear into jungle, used booby traps and ambushes, no known headquarters

• civilians gaining respect and using repression- viet cong were respectful to population of peasents and helped them in busy periods

• commitment- they refused to give up they were fighting for their country

commited to the cause, high morale → compared to low morale of US

many peasants gave them support

guerilla warfare left the US in constant fear, very difficult for the US to destroy the viet cong.

peace movement in US

• mass protests 1968-70, over 100 student demonstrations, almost 700,000 antiwar protesters demonstrated in washington dc

• demands for the us to address inequality at home before intervening in other countries, money from johnsons great society ( money for poverty, healthcare and racial inequality) had been diverted to vietnam, higher % of black americans were being conscripted than white.

tax payers money was funding the war and the US could hardly continue if there was so much opposition at home

us seemed hypocritical at trying to implement democracy in vietnam when there was inequality at home