President Johnson's policy in Vietnam
The United States of America is often described as invincible and unyielding. Yet during the Vietnam War, America was forced to look at its weaknesses, both politically and militarily. President Lyndon B. Johnson, in sending U.S. Marines in March 1965, followed shortly thereafter by U.S. Army ground combat units, broke the strategic continuity of American involvement in Vietnam and, in so doing, paved the way for the U.S. forces' ultimate defeat. Thus, it is plausible that President Johnson's policy in Vietnam was "doomed to fail" from the beginning.Although South Vietnam asked for help, which the United States had previously promised, the entire conflict was managed in order to meet personal political agendas and to remain politically correct in the world's eyes rather than to bring a quick and decisive end to the conflict. This can be seen in the selective bombing of Hanoi throughout the course of the Vietnam War. Politically, this strategy looked very good. However, militarily it was ludicrous. War is the one arena in which politicians have no place. War is the military's sole purpose. United States involvement in Vietnam continued to escalate throughout the 1950's and into the early 1960's. On August 4, 1964, the Gulf
of Tonkin incident occurred in which American Naval Vessels in South Vietnamese waters were fired upon by North Vietnam. On August 5, 1964, President Johnson requested a resolution expressing the determination of the United States to continue in its basic policy of assisting the free nations of the area to defend their freedom. (History of the United States) On August 7, 1964, in response to the presidential request, Congress authorized President Johnson "to take all necessary measures to repel any attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression..." (A). The selective bombing of North Vietnam began immediately in response to this resolution. In March of the following year U. S. Troops began to arrive. Although the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution specifically stated that we had no military, political, or territorial ambitions in southeast Asia, the interests back home were of a different nature. The United States was not expecting a more extensive development in Vietnam, and Johnson shocked the nation by his exclusive decision. "A mature great power will make measured and limited use of its power...Since in this generation we have become a great power, I am in favor of learning to behave like a great power..." (B). Thus a major downfall of Johnson's policy was his blatant misuse of his respective power. It was the policy of military escalation in Vietnam, however, that proved to be Johnson's undoing as president. It deflected attention from domestic concerns, resulted in sharp inflation, and prompted rising criticism, especially among young, draft-aged people. "...mood of Congress changed, a reflection of public attitudes strongly influenced by the news
Some common words found in the essay are:
Vietnam War, War Vietcong, President Johnson, South Vietnam, Union Address, North Vietnam, Vietnam Johnson, War Politically, Marines March, Tonkin Resolution, vietnam war, north vietnam, president johnson, involvement vietnam, south vietnam, johnson's policy, military political, bombing north, bombing north vietnam, doomed fail, fail beginning, doomed fail beginning,
Approximate Word count = 1145
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
