The Vietnam War: A Sorry Product of Cold War Politics
Who’s to blame for Vietnam? Would the war have happened if it hadn't be for Cold War paranoia on the part of the Americans? Or did the Cold War force the United States into action in Vietnam? And finally, was the Cold War truly ‘cold’? The eruption of war in Vietnam was the result of a culmination of a series of events that directly opposed the United States’ foreign policy concerns and objectives during the cold war. The United States’ erratic fear of communism and its allies, namely the USSR, and China, made the war in Vietnam inevitable. To the Americans, not only did pre-Vietnam symbolise the successful spread of communism, but it also represented the communist gateway to the rest of South-East Asia, a reality that the Americans could not accept. This paper will explore the ways in which the Vietnam War was a direct product of US Cold War policies, both foreign and domestic. By examining the pre-war conditions in Vietnam, as well as the primary concerns of the Americans during the pre-war period, conclusions on the inevitability of the war will be made. For the Cold war and the paranoia that came with it, made the violence in Vietnam an inevitability that the Americans soon regretted. Why Vietnam? The eruption of War in the mid-twentieth century was a long time coming. After the end of the second world war, the situation in Vietnam mirrored that of Europe, shifting alliances and power bases. During this period, France, who’s commitment to and control of Vietnam, or French Indochina as it was known, dates back to the late 1800s, was slowly but surely losing its grip on the country. Nationalist calls for independence and sovereignty from France became increasingly prominent, with many seeing it as a primary step to the progress and development of the country. These domestic movements were occurring within a wider global context, where nationalism and independence and more consequently, anti-colonialism came hand in hand. These sentiments brought with them a national power struggle that resulted in the birth of a new state; the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945. After the weakening of Europe during the second world war, the Vietnamese Communist commander Ho Chi Minh, and his Viet Minh nationalist group, declared independence. In hindsight, this declaration proved to be incredibly consequential for it marked the beginning of the the specific conditions that culminated in the eruption of the Vietnam war. The events that followed Minh’s declaration paved the way for international interference be they direct or indirect in Vietnamese domestic politics. France, who historically served as Vietnam’s colonial backer and patron, refused to recognise Minh’s declaration as legitimate and therefore quickly sought to amend the situation by making a declaration of their own; war. France’s declaration of war in 1945, brought with it a literal division of the country. With Minh’s guerrilla forces in the north, and French forces in the south, Vietnam quickly became a split nation, one that was divided ideologically, physically, and more importantly politically. Going up against the French army made Minh, take desperate measures to secure his power base and exploit the post-second world war global tensions. Minh initially sought aid from the United States in trying to defeat the French, this move on his part was crucial, for it meant that Minh was not only pragmatic, but also willing to work with anyone, regardless of wether or not ideologically it made sense, namely the Untied States. Unlike Minh, who in his call for help looked passed differences between his organisation and the US administration, the United States government was much more cautious. In an effort not to flare up any existing post-war tensions with he USSR, the United States government denied Minh’s aid request and sided with France, its world-war ally. This move highlighted the United States complete awareness of the fragility of its relationship with the Soviet Union at the time, and the denial of Minh’s request symbolised an unwillingness to risk the eruption of any war be it total or by proxy after the devastation of the second world war. By 1953, Ho Chi Minh and his communist forces were still at war with the French and their stronghold in the South. Fighting continued until the French were defeated by Minh and his guerrilla forces a short year later in 1954, resulting from the embarrassing and final fatal blow to the French in a battle at Dien Bien Phu. Diplomacy and peace talks become the only way in which a settlement can be reached for the French quickly realised that the Vietnamese could not be convincingly defeated in a conventional war scenario. The Geneva Accords, signed in 1954, brought with it two important and consequential agreements. The first being a ceasefire between the two camps and the second and perhaps the more important, the decision to formally divide Vietnam into North Vietnam, with Ho Chi Minh as its leader, and South Vietnam, lead by the a French appointed Emperor. The two sovereign provinces were to be divided by a literal line the would serve as a makeshift border and demilitarised zone.[1] This division however was agreed upon under certain conditions, the primary one being that the understanding by both sides was by no means permanent. Vietnam would not remain divided forever, elections were organised for the following year, 1956 to be exact, in hopes that both groups will have an equal opportunity to fight for the presidency democratically. Democracy and the spread of democracy is a central American policy objective during the Cold War. In 1947, the Americans introduced a Containment Policy, that aimed to contain the spread of communism. This policy quickly began informing the United States’ foreign policy in both Europe and Asia. The paranoia surrounding the threat of the spread of communism during the Cold War, and the extension of the USSR’s sphere of influence in Asia, meant that the United States would no longer remain on the sidelines, and would take a more active role in securing their policy objectives in the region. This policy not only informed the United States’ foreign objectives but it also made the US government more willing to work with local groups on the ground who did not have ties to communism. This paved the way for indirect and direct intervention in Vietnam, beginning with proxy groups and later escalating into a total war. The Cold War was characterised by long-term heightened tensions between the twentieth century’s two main super powers; the United States and the USSR. One of the main pillars of the War, was both sides’ intent to keep the other at bay and reduce their sphere of influence. By limiting the spread of one super power’s influence over a nation state, their power will be effectively reduced globally. Vietnam, therefore was seen as the last frontier, the state which if lost to communism will never recover. In 1954. then president of the United States, President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave a speech that quickly became infamous for its depiction of the situation in Vietnam, and became the pillar of American foreign policy with regard to Vietnam. President Eisenhower presented to the public the argument for intervention in Vietnam by first and foremost noting its significance to the United States on multiple levels, economically, politically, and from a moral standpoint argued how the Vietnamese should be saved from living under a brutal regime. Eisenhower argued that the “possibility that many human beings pass under a dictatorship that is inimical to the free world”[2] makes the US’s intervention a matter of grave significance. This statement emphasised the notion which was extremely prevalent during the Cold War of Us (the free) Vs. Them (the enslaved.) By pitting the two opposite realities against one another Eisenhower makes a symbolic statement about the nature of democracy versus communism, in order to create a sense of urgency and narrative that the American public would be willing to buy into. By depicting Vietnam as the first and most important piece of the puzzle in the fight against communism, Eisenhower presented his Domino Theory. For he stated to the American people; “you have broader considerations that might follow what you would call the ‘falling domino’ principle, you have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is a certainty that it will go over very quickly.” [3] By presenting the policy option and theory using such simple imagery and language, Eisenhower was able to emphasise the idea to the biggest number of people without going into much detail, only stressing that if Vietnam falls then the rest of Asia will surely follow. To the Americans, Vietnam was the last frontier in the fight on communism in Asia, the Soviets however perceived Vietnam as the gateway to Asia. Eisenhower was therefore sure to stress that the “loss of Indochina, of Burma, of Thailand, of the Peninsula, and Indonesia will follow.”[4] This might be a slight exaggeration on the part of the United States, but it was is complete belief in the expansionary intentions of the USSR that made the war on Vietnam an inevitable reality. After Eisenhower’s infamous words, the United States did little on the ground to stop the fighting in the divided state directly. Instead, the Americans sought to support the local anti-communist leader Ngo Dinh Diem and his allies in securing power against the North Vietnamese communist group, National Liberation Front backed by by Ho Chi Minh. Although the Diem Regime made some advances, they were eventually found to be corrupt by the Americans and their allies, and all support from them from the outside slowly began to fall.. By 1962, the Americans had no choice but take a different route against their Communist rivals, for it was no longer a good policy option to fight from afar, direct action had to be taken. It was then that President John F. Kennedy decided to abandon the Diem regime and seek a new group in Vietnam to support. The US quickly sent military advisors to take action on the ground, to train and militarise the South Vietnamese ARVN army, hoping that this move would pit the Vietnamese against one another and end the conflict once and for all. After the fall of the Diem regime with the help of US-backed revolutionaries, in 1963, the regime was replaced by another brutal group that proved to be once again unless in defeating the communists. The United States avoided direct military intervention for a decade before finally taking action. The reason it took that long to intervene, was the US governments fear of entering into a full fledged war with the USSR and its main ally in Vietnam, China. It was this fear that prevented the United States from intervening directly sooner, and it was when Eisenhower’s domino theory truly came into effect. It was in 1964 that the United States began its military crusade into Vietnam after US navy ships were attacked off the Gulf of Tonkin. The military campaign continued until 1973, when the Americans and the Chinese finally agreed on a diplomatic withdrawal and ceasefire that would end a brutal decade-long war. The end of the war brought with it a sense of relief to the American public. Although the fighting was a million miles away in Vietnam during the 1960s, the American government could not get the public onboard with the war. This was due to the Vietnam War being the first time that the acreage Americans fly saw the effects of war from their TV screens at home. The broadcast of images of war from Vietnam daily meant that the war was extremely close to home regardless of the physical distance separating the two countries. Vietnam quickly became a point of frustration towards the American government by the people, and its end was not only welcomed but wished for for many years prior. With the end of the Vietnam War, the USSR and the United States slowly but surely understood that neither one of them was truly ready to undertake a military campaign against the other. The threat of communism was slowly neutralised by the 1970s, and Vietnam was no longer a breeding ground for communist ideology. Finally, the Cold War, brought with it sheer devastation and fighting culminating in the breakout of war in Vietnam, a country that fell victim to the Cold War rhetoric and policy-making by the United States and its greatest rival the USSR.