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Topic: Vietnam Posted: 11-Feb-2005 at 14:59 |
What reasons for U.S. intervention in Vietnam were under Eisenhower
Edited by Erol
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J.M.Finegold
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Posted: 11-Feb-2005 at 21:20 |
The reasons were simple - the United States needed to show it was the
big man on campus, and that the "reds" weren't going to get close to
U.S. assets, even if they weren't nearly important to the U.S.
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RED GUARD
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Posted: 11-Apr-2005 at 21:07 |
Yah, and the poorly armed Viet Cong defeated the US! What a blunder!
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Quotes by your's turly:
"I came, I saw, and I conquered... but only for the weekend"
"This is my tank, this is my weapon, and this is my pride."
"Power comes from a barrel of a gun."
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Tobodai
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Posted: 11-Apr-2005 at 22:52 |
it didnt matter that they were poorly armed, I dont think they won a single field engagement bigger than a platoon over US forces, but they were very brave and far more tactically intelligent.
Reasons basically was democratic party paranoia at being percieved as soft coupled with a misguided theory about the domino effect. Americas leading cold war strategist advised not getting involved, he was the same guy that predicted the Soviet Union would internally implode so he certainyl has been vindicated!
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"the people are nothing but a great beast...
I have learned to hold popular opinion of no value."
-Alexander Hamilton
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Herodotus
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Posted: 15-Apr-2005 at 18:44 |
Yes, I mostly agree with what's already been said. Vietnam was a terrible blunder for the U.S. Though I would say America lost the war not because of tactical inferiority,though that was a factor, but because of a lack of determination and support, as opposed to their adversaries, who were putting everything into total war.
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"Dieu est un comdien jouant une assistance trop effraye de rire."
"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh."
-Francois Marie Arouet, Voltaire
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Posted: 16-Apr-2005 at 09:36 |
Originally posted by Erol
What reasons for U.S. intervention in Vietnam were under Eisenhower
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My vision:
The US didn't want the former French colony to become independent as a
communist country. They were dragged more and more into it preventing
that. When it turned into a full scale war it was already too late to
pull back from Vietnam without losing prestige.
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Cywr
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Posted: 16-Apr-2005 at 09:44 |
Chomsky argues that, despite military failure, Vietnam was still a success for the US.
An intresting view.
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Arrrgh!!"
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Thegeneral
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Posted: 16-Apr-2005 at 12:33 |
Would you consider Vietnam a military loss for America? I do not believe so but if you think it is a loss, why?
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Cywr
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Posted: 16-Apr-2005 at 13:07 |
Well they failed to contain the southward march of North Vietnamese
forces, and ended up having to evacuate. Doesn't sound like a military
success to me.
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Arrrgh!!"
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Thegeneral
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Posted: 16-Apr-2005 at 14:29 |
But they won nearly all of their battles. The reason we pulled out was because the public was so set against it. They may not have achieved their overall goal, but we won nearly all of our battle there.
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Cywr
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Posted: 16-Apr-2005 at 15:16 |
The final miltary withdrawl was because Vietcong troops had entered Saigon.
Sure, with more public support, the US military could have been even
more heavy handed, and maybe succeded in keeping the North out of the
South, but in the end they didn't.
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Arrrgh!!"
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Paul
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Posted: 16-Apr-2005 at 16:04 |
Lets not forget Cambodia a neutral democracy.
US arms up a rightwing nutter in the army and organises a coup. He declares wars on Vietnam as part of the deal. Vietnamese crush the Cambodian army in weeks, arm up the Khmere Rouge and the Seige of Pnom Penn starts, all in a space of a few months. US is now has to defend Pnom Penn as well as fight in Vietnam and fails in this war as well. Two communist countries for the price of one, an one was a stable neutral democracy...... Disaster.
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