"Lyndon Johnson's War" by Hunt - Cold War through Vietnam (focuses mainly on Vietnam and its causes & effects

Essay by sasalarCollege, UndergraduateA+, May 2004

download word file, 6 pages 5.0

Downloaded 141 times

As we moved into yet another turbulent decade characterized by perilous and uncertain foreign affairs, we embarked on a profuse battle against the Communists and their quest for dominance in the vulnerable areas of Southeast Asia. United States involvement in Southeast Asia will forever be reflected upon as being highly controversial, as it made us question both our own military might, and also the ability of our government to make crucial decisions. The Vietnam War drove two presidents from the Oval office, destroyed the U.S. foreign policy consensus, and shattered an entire generation's outlook on America's function in the world. "Lyndon Johnson's War," a book written by Michael H. Hunt succeeds in painting a vivid picture of the complex environment in which decisions were made, and lives were lost. This book illustrates the pressures of global and domestic politics, the propositions of flawed strategies, and the influence of human weakness and moral blindness coming together to produce a catastrophic turning point in the history of U.S.

foreign policy.

Central to the foreign policy that brought the United States into war with Vietnam was the policy of containment. Although the cause of the tensions in Southeast Asia cannot be isolated to one or even a few historical events, the policies that we adopted are deeply rooted in the politics of the Cold War. The first crucial moment was spring of 1954, when the French asked for help in defending their garrison at Dien Bien Phu, which was under attack by the Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh forces. We took the initiative, and stepped forward to bring a third world Vietnam out of control from the French, and into a movement towards democratic liberation. We were determined to the "paternal" cause of bringing the ideals of the American Democracy to...