The conflict in Vietnam which is also called the Ten Thousand-Day War was an ongoing battle from 1945 to 1975. In the 30 years of fighting, the United States would lose over 57,000 men while Vietnamese dead numbered two million (Maclear 2). The Vietnam War is very interesting because many people have wondered how and why the United States got involved in a war that really didn't seem to concern them.

American involvement officially began in 1950 when the US government recognized the Bao Dai government and began sending the French aid to fight off the communist backed Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh (Scheer 10). The French lost the war because it was not fully committed to a "win" policy (Scheer 10). The Bao Dai, anti-Communist nationalist alternative, whom the Truman and Eisenhower Administrations had backed, had failed to undercut the appeal of the Viet Minh (Scheer 11). The price of peace involved the surrendering of some portion of the country to the Communists, and the United States could not oppose since it had not become deeply involved (Scheer 12). The United States instead placed its hopes on a "new anti-Communist nationalist alternative" and his name was Ngo Dinh

The final incidents that led to the coup were a train of abuses, no single one of which was necessarily more important than any other, even though the dramatic Buddhist crisis is frequently cited as the final straw; it was one straw, a dramatic on. On November 1, the generals staged a coup and in the end Diem was killed (Trager 179).

Diem was aware that his government could not survive without the massive aid from the United States so he based his whole appeal on anti-communism (Scheer 56). But then, with the "Communist danger" the basis for assuring continued American aid, the "secure" countryside suddenly was overrun with "Communist terrorists" (Scheer 56).

In the spring of 1961, the magazine press began to revise its picture of Diem's government (Scheer 66). Jerry Rose, who was an expert on Vietnam, accepted the containment policy after Diem's removal and supported the overriding necessity for stopping the spread of communism in Vietnam. He says:

Trager, Frank N. Why Vietnam?. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Publishers, 1968.

To sum up: one solution now for the U.S. appears to be a show of power in South Vietnam which would pave the way toward a compromising settlement. But is the risk of a power-play warranted? Southeast Asia has been likened to "a set of dominos." If South Vietnam falls; the rest of the blocks go, too. It would seem, therefore, that it is in the high interest of the U.S., as a leader and a system of government, to risk much in stabilizing that tottering block (Scheer 76-77).

After Diem's government was ousted, President Johnson had to decide afresh the new ways in which the U.S. could help Vietnam. The United States continued the policy of supplying, training, and advising the Army of the Republic of Vietnam on an increasing scale (Trager 179). On August 2 and 4, North Vietnamese boats attacked the warships U.S.S. Maddox and

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Approximate Word count = 1270
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)