Vietnam in historical perspectives of Gentlemen and Young

¶ … Vietnam fell to warfare and the world witnessed its upheaval, foreign powers wished to interfere. Most tried to set up some assembly of Vietnamese figures to inhibit a Communist victory. The foreign interference to generate a "third power" or "third political party" proved less substantial than previous efforts. This could be in part to the August Revolution of 1945. "Any such scheme was probably doomed from the time of the August Revolution of 1945" (D-60, 134).

There was however, a notable figure by the name of Ngo Dinh Diem who attempted to create and sustain an independent regime in South Vietnam. "Ngo Dinh Diem retained sufficient independence of Washington's wishes to invoke considerable displeasure, despite the public position that the Vietnamese leader was a thoroughly reliable ally and paragon of virtue (Reading 25)" (D-60, 135). Diem was perhaps the best chance foreign policymakers had at creating the third group that they wanted. Diem nevertheless was resistant to the advice given by the Americans.

Diem prohibited any guidance to initiate necessary reforms and expand the base of his regime. The unfortunate part to this refusal was Diem lack of evident supporters which were limited to his family and Northern Catholic refugees. During the summer of 1963, Diem went in two opposite directions with his plans. One of the two directions could have possibly alienated him permanently from Washington. "He put out feelers to the DRV authorities in Hanoi about a possible settlement that would exclude the United States and he and his brother, secret police head Ngo Dinh Nhu, unleashed the ferocious attack on the Buddhist church described in Reading 31" (D-60, 135). The rationale, although it truly failed to create a lasting impact, was to provide Vietnam with an option to stop Communism from forming within its borders. Diem was meant to be the "anti-communist, Christian leader" designed to save Vietnam from the perils of Communism.

3. The backlash from the U.S. government's actions in Indochina had been nothing less than complex. Not only did it become a controversial element of the Vietnam War, it also proved how ineffective and futile the gesture was and introduced the possibility that it was the reason the U.S. did not acquire military victory. So many questions came from the actions of the U.S. military intervention in Indochina. Some of these questions perhaps help explain what the consequences of these actions were. "Was it the outburst of a vocal minority, or did it express the deepest convictions of a majority of Americans? Did the revitalization of the movement for women's equality grow from the antiwar movement or develop as a reaction against male domination within it?" (Eds., 295).

People were fed up with America's involvement with Indochina. Not only did they see it as a waste of money and time, but it also sparked upheaval among minorities and women. People no longer saw America as a neutral force, but rather one that was selfishly seeking its own political agendas. Furthermore it also generated a negative sentiment amongst Americans on the actions of the American government as a whole.

"The central event in this context, influencing other events as apparently disparate as presidential primaries, rebellions in the ghettos, and a crisis in the world monetary system, was the four-week Tet Offensive that began on January 30" (Eds., 339). Looking back at the events leading up to the U.S. defeat and withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam, the Tet Offensive seems to have been the point at which the U.S. had to imagine they might lose. The Tet Offensive is seen by some as having the same effect and impact as Pearl Harbor. It made the North and the Communist forces of Northern Vietnam appear to have some offensive force and strategy that Southern Vietnam and the American public were not aware of. Although the Tet Offensive was not successful, its impact created confidence among the Northern Vietnam troops to succeed in their campaign. They even began to send "victory propaganda" after the Tet Offensive ended.

2. American officials thought of Northern Vietnam and the struggle within Vietnam as ultimately a Communist chance at power. They saw Vietnam as a resistant country filled with insurgents who threatened the political systems of other countries. To them, Vietnam was the gate to Communism that if sparked, would influence other countries and lead to a potential larger war against Communism. Simply put, Americans did not want Communism to spread all over south-east Asia.