Was the Vietnam War Winnable - 1210 Words

Was the Vietnam War Winnable? The war in Vietnam waged by America was unwinnable through the type of warfare that was used by the US . If they had concentrated on certain key aspects they may have prevented the spread of communism to South Vietnam and achieved their ultimate goal. Americas inability to obtain the â€Å"Hearts and Minds â€Å"of the Vietnamese led to a continual supply of fighters. The US was unable to fight against an ever-increasing civilian army. In Vietnam the US relied tremendously on their advanced and superior firepower to defeat the Vietcong and the ARVN. There technology and training was inadequate in the foreign Vietnamese terrain. The Vietnamese were allied to other communist nations, if their defeat was too humiliating†¦show more content†¦The civilians retaliated by aiding the Viet Cong eventually joining them. This continued over the span of the war thereby creating an ever-increasing number of People fighting against the Americans. Americas inability to attain the â€Å"Hearts and Minds† of the Vietnamese population led to a constantly growing opposition ensuring that for every one â€Å"gook† the Americans killed there were always 2 more to replace him. No matter how many casualties USA inflicted on Vietnam the continuous supply of people would eventually beat the policy restricted US. ‘You can kill 10 of my men for everyone I kill of yours, but in the end I will win and you will lose†. American did not have the people of Vietnam backing them. To the Vietnamese they were intruders who murdered their families forcing the people of Vietnam to fight back. The Vietnamese’s refusal to cooperate with America prompted backlash from the solders. The Vietnamese’s responded with even more resistance to the US. This chain reaction fuelled the hatred the Vietnamese had for America. The USA was extremely vain when going to war in Vietnam. They had extreme firepower. With a few weeks notice at the time, had the power to turn Vietnam into a region of radioactive glass. The US’s strategy of search and destroy conflicted directly with the Vietnamese’s strategy of hanging onto their belts (caplan,2012). Unlike previous American victories againstShow MoreRelatedU.s. Failed During The Vietnam War987 Words   |  4 Pages This investigation seeks how the U.S. failed in the Vietnam War. The main body of this investigation outlines why the U.S. lost the winnable war, the causes for the U.S. defeat, and the differences between Vietcong and the Americans, which is one of the main reason why the U.S. failed in the Vietnam War. Two main sources used in this essay are When We Lost the Winnable War by Bruce Walker and The Vietnam War 1964-75 - The causes for the US defeat by Jyri Hintikka. Both of these sources of informationRead MoreRichard Nixon: Was He Truly Conservative? Essays1083 Words   |  5 Pagesclear that Richard Nixon was elected as a conservative. He promised themes of â€Å"law and order† (Lecture 24, November 14), pandered to what he called the â€Å"silent majority† (Silent Majority Speech, 1969) and promised to end the unpopular Vietnam War, a product itself of liberal policies and ideals. He offered a sharp contrast in rhetoric between the soaring â€Å"we can do it all† language perpetuated by Kennedy and Johnson (Lecture 25, November 19). But how truly conservative was â€Å"Tricky Dick’s† presidencyRead More The Myths of Vietnam Essay5554 Words   |  23 Pages Contending versions of the Vietnam War and the antiwar movement began to develop even before the war ended. The hawks version, then and now, holds that the war was winnable, but the press, micromanaging civilian game theorists in the Pentagon, and antiwar hippies lost it. . . . The doves version, contrarily, remains that the war was unwise and unwinnable no matter what strategy was employed or how much firepower was used. . . Both of these versions of the war and the antiwar movement as theyRead MoreThe Photo Of A South Vietnamese Police Chief Executing A Guerrilla Fighter1269 Words   |  6 Pagescopper to evacuated Vietnam. It is a zoomed in photo of a man punching another man in the face as they fight to get into the helicopter to leave Vietnam. This text also used propaganda from this time period, such as â€Å"Onward and Upward† a cartoon of Johnson’s hopes for a Great Society were constantly dragged down by the grim demands of the Vietnam War. (Page 935). Another propaganda drawing is â€Å"Who lost Vietnam†(page 963), which is addressing who is to blame for losing the Vietnam War. 2. Does the textbookRead MoreThe American Role During The Vietnam War Still Sparks Much Debate Today1390 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Vietnam War still sparks much debate today. There is a sharp focus on the Americans role in the Vietnam War because of the tragic end for the South Vietnamese. The United States faced much criticism world wide through literature during the war that continued after the war ended in 1975. The American governments reasoning for getting involved was to prevent the spread of communism in South Vietnam and to essentially prevent the domino effect. South Vietnam had no hope of winning a civil war againstRead MoreWhy Did The United States Lose The War Of Vietnam? Essay1545 Words   |  7 Pageslose the war in Vietnam? Could the US have won? Before the Vietnam War, the United States had never lost a war. The military of the United States had grown to be one of the largest in the world. The post WWII boom boosted America’s economy to be the largest in the world, occupying 38.6% of the world GDP in the 1960 . Yet with all of its military and economic might, the United States could not defeat an insurgency seeking control of a third world country. The United States didn’t lose the war on theRead MoreAmerican Public Opinion of the Vietnam War Essay1566 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican Public Opinion of the Vietnam War At the beginning of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, in 1965, the American Public favored the idea of war because they feared the threat of communism. Polls conducted in 1965, showed 80 percent of the population agreed with President Johnson and were for the war (Rousseau 11). The U.S. got involved with the war to stop communism from spreading throughout South Asia. Americans were afraid if one country on South AsiaRead MoreSignificance of Cuban Missile Crisis1470 Words   |  6 PagesSignificance of Cuban Missile Crisis -This was an intense period where nuclear war could break out at any time. -A rash decision by any side could spark off war between the USSR and USA and in turn nuclear weapons might be deployed. -Fortunately, the leaders made rational decisions to resolve the crisis. -After the Cuban missile crisis, both sides realized the danger of nuclear war and began to talk more about peaceful co-existence. -A hotline was established bet the USSR amp; the USA toRead MoreHow America Lost the Vietnam War1691 Words   |  7 PagesWorld War II, decolonization around the world was taking place after their colonial rulers had been wasted off any feasible measure to retain them. At the same time, the communist superpower of the USSR began a campaign to set up a buffer zone, otherwise called satellite states, against their former allies and the North American Treaty Organization (NATO). An feeling of mutual antagonism between the two created a global stalemate, and the only measurable way to demonstrate their power was in smallRead MoreThe Vietnam War And The United States Of America1766 Words   |  8 PagesSecretary of State and Vietnam veteran John Kerry said it best when he stated â€Å"In our opinion and from our experience, there is nothing in South Vietnam which could happen that realistically threatens the United States of America† and â€Å"To attempt to justify the loss of o ne American life in Vietnam, Cambodia, or Laos†¦is to us the height of criminal hypocrisy which we feel has torn the country apart† (Goldstein). This statement stands true with many Americans as the Vietnam War was the most opposed and