Essay Questions
Essay questions
Question 1
The French Indochina War was begun in 1946 and lasted until 1954. There were several parties involved in the war including: the French Forces, who were also supported by the emperor of the Vietnamese National Army, and Viet Minh, their opponents. The fighting took place in Northern Vietnam however it spilled into the entire country and the neighboring Indochina protectorates belonging to France such as Cambodia and Laos. The war started mainly because of the reoccupation of the area by the French after the Second World War. They decided to launch a rebellion against the authority of the French who were in control of the French Indochina colonies. At the beginning of the revolt, the French were against some traditional insurgents who offered no match to their superiority. However, once the Chinese communists began entering the Northern border of Vietnam, the war shifted and became a conventional war. Both the Chinese communists and the French forces were equipped with modern weapons mainly supplied by the USSR and the US.
The major events of the war began in 1946. After a conflict of interest between the French authorities and the Viet Minh government, the French attacked the city of Haiphong in one afternoon killing more than 6000 Vietnamese. The Vietnamese could not retreat, they decided to also launch attacks against the French in the city until 1949; but the superiority of the French gave them an upper hand. The other major event occurred in 1949 when Chinese gains interest in the war and began supplying weapons to the Vietnamese government. At the same time, the US also gained interest and supplied weapons to the French forces. This is when the war became conventional. In 1953, failure to succeed against the French forced the Vietnamese government to change tactics. They decided to provoke the French by spilling the war to the entire country and to the neighboring colonies of Laos and Cambodia. The course of the war was directed towards splitting of the country into southern state and the Northern state. It also led to the direct involvement of the US in Vietnam after the French lost.
Question 2
American involvement in Vietnam was a direct outcome of the Cold War. The American decided to replace the French following their defeat in Vietnam. The main interest of the Americans was sparked by the fact that the USSR was in support of the Chinese and the spread of communism in the region. The Cold war forced the United States of America to begun spreading its liberal values overseas. Capitalism and all other ideologies supported by the Americans were only reflected domestically within their political systems and in the western European countries. Communism was fast spreading in Asia and the US had to gain interest in the region in order to stop the spread of communism and the influence of USSR.
The Truman doctrine was a paradigm shift in the US stands on foreign policy. He held the ideology of an internationalist and not an isolationist. This meant that the influence of the US was to be felt in the entire world and not just domestically. As a result the US saw the need to be involved in crucial world affairs that were strategic for the spread of capitalism in addition to preventing the spread of communism and the influence of USSR. This can be seen in the Vietnam War when the US decided to get involved indirectly through supply of weapons and military observers.
The Truman doctrine was mainly a policy aimed at supporting free people. The US recognized that totalitarian government did allow people to be free and independent. This was against the fundamental principles upon which the US stands. It was clear from the First World War that the approach in which the French and the British took on Hitler and the Nazi did not lead to a desirable outcome. Therefore instead of appeasing the USSR and communism, the US decided to be aggressive and support freedom. In its foreign affairs the US would gain interest on any country that does not encourage the freedom and rights of its people. The involvement of the US in Vietnam can therefore be understood on the basis of the Truman doctrine and the larger Cold War against the USSR.
Question 3
Diem became South Vietnam’s first president. He rose to power as a result of the Geneva Accord that split Vietnam into two, southern Vietnam and northern Vietnam. Withdrawal of the French from Indochina meant that they had lost and there was need to bring stability into the country. The Geneva accord therefore prevented the Northern leader from taking over the entire country. Diem was therefore appointed to lead the effort of making Vietnam into a republican state. He was also strongly opposed communism which implies that he received considerable support from the US. The northern state of Vietnam had the support of the Chinese communist and the USSR beginning from the 1949 during the French Indochina War. The USSR supplied weapons to the northern government forces.
Diem rose into power after a referendum in the southern part of Vietnam. This referendum was to determine the future of the southern government and lead it into a republic. In the contest, there were two main rivals, Diem, who argued for a republic and Bao Dia, who was considered the emperor from 1945. Election was won by Diem amidst allegation of fraud in the electoral process. He mainly won with figures and tallies far above the number of registered voters. Basically, Diem was not liked by his rivals and the referendum was the last chance of rivalry with the former emperor. Before being elected, Diem was Bao’s prime minister. The main reason for his appointment was because he played an instrumental role in the relationship between South Vietnam and the US. All the same, he was never liked because of his religious stand. He was a Roman Catholic and this lead to fierce religious protest after ascending to power. He also lost the backing of the US and in 1963 he got assassinated alongside his brother in a coup which saw his government overthrown.
Question 4
Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese revolutionary leader, who became prime minister of the Vietnam in 1945 and president after the split of the nation into two in 1955. He also was instrumental in forming the foundations of Northern Vietnam of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In the US, he was the figure and symbol of an enemy in the Vietnam War. Most people believe that he supported communism first than being a nationalist. Based on the information that he had relations with the USSR and China, Americans believe that he was the biggest enemy in the fight against the spread of communism in Asia. The relationship with China and USSR meant that he was a strong supporter of communism in the region and his activities were against the US involvement in the Vietnam War. During the French colonization of the Indochina, he got the opportunity to visit England and France for his political education. But after completion he visited Russia in 1923 where he attended the communist university of toiler of the East. He also participated in various communist customs while in Russia. In 1924, he went to China and after this visit he was considered a betrayer to the French police.
However, despite his relationship with the communist states, Ho was more of a nationalist than a communist. He was very instrumental in building and unifying the Vietnamese state. He was very dedicated in the affairs of his country than was in spreading the influence of communists. He was the driving force behind the unity of Vietnam; something that would have never been easily achieved. It can be argued that he was the mind genius behind the independence of the state from the French colonialism. The nationalist spirit in him was seen in the way he was determined to unify the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. When he returned to Vietnam in 1941, he was the leader of the movement for independence.
Question 5
The war in Vietnam is regarded t be one of the most serious issues in the US foreign policy. It led to several political shakeups in the US and was debated in the political scene for more than 30 years. JFK and President Johnson are said to be the two presidents who deeply put America in the Vietnam War because they were the leaders during the most crucial times of the US involvement in the war. It is also argued that Kennedy’s policies regarding the war were similar to those of President Johnson.
JFK’s policies regarding the issue of Vietnam were based on the notion that America has an obligation to the world. Its interest was not limited to internal security but the security of all the regions of the world. According to Kennedy, Vietnam was a crucial link for strategic positioning of stopping spread of communism. By the time Kennedy was elected as president, there were few military advisors in Vietnam. But after the assassination, this number grew to over 20000.
Johnson’s policy is seen as a continuation of Kennedy’s policy since it is based on the same premise that the war in Vietnam is basically a war between communist world and non communist world. He chose not be the president who would go down memory lane as a loser against communism. During his tenure, most Americans became even more supportive of the hard line foreign policy on the issue of Vietnam. Kennedy also understood the whole issue of Vietnam as an intention of Russia and China to dominate the world. Similarly, President Johnson had the same perception. The differences in their policies can be seen in the process of policy making and military response as a result of threat. During Kennedy’s time, policy making was more open and involved state departments while during Johnsons’ tenure, the structure for policy making was mainly closed and shifted to white house.
References
Kegley, C. W., & Wittkopf, E. R. (1991). American Foreign Policy: Pattern and Process,. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Mann, R. (2001). A Grand Delusion: America's Descent into Vietnam. New York: Perseus.
Perkins, M. (2006). Hanoi, adieu: A bittersweet memoir of French Indochina. Sydney: Harper.
