President Kennedy and the Vietnam War Essay - 1806 Words

From the 1880s until World War II, France governed Vietnam as part of French Indochina, which also included Cambodia and Laos. The country was under the formal control of an emperor, Bao Dai. From 1946 until 1954, the Vietnamese struggled for their independence from France during the first Indochina War. At the end of this war, the country was temporarily divided into North and South Vietnam. North Vietnam came under the control of the Vietnamese Communists who had opposed France and aimed for a unified Vietnam under Communist rule. Vietnamese who had collaborated with the French controlled the South. For this reason the United States became involved in Vietnam because it believed that if all of the country fell under a Communist†¦show more content†¦Another problem JFK had inherited was Diem from Eisenhower. Kennedy’s cabinet members were made up of many different thinkers. Dean Rusk, the Secretary of State believed that there was a communist plot to take over the world and it must be stopped. Walt Rostow, the presidential advisor believes that we should use military force to cut off supplies to the Vietcong, have large scale bombings of North Vietnam and accelerate modernization in South Vietnam. General Maxwell Taylor criticized Eisenhower’s conventional training efforts. McGeorge Bundy, the NSC advisor wanted to attack the Vietcong and North Vietnam if necessary. George Ball believed that Diem regime was corrupt and to create democracy in Vietnam was impossible. Kennedy first role as president was to focus on issue involving the dangerous crisis over Berlin, on Cuba, and on the future of Laos. JFK first sends advisors to Vietnam to recommend a course of action during May 1961. Lyndon B. Johnson, Vice-President, visits South Vietnam and recommends strong commitment. In June 1961, the State Department report had three objectives: #61623; provide military protection to peasants #61623; convince Diem to implement social and economic reforms #61623; create a self-sustaining economy in South Vietnam That same year in December, the State Department claims in a public report that Vietnam is threatened by a â€Å"clear and presentShow MoreRelatedThe Failure Of Guerilla Warfare Methods During The Vietnam War1369 Words   |  6 PagesWarfare Methods in the Vietnam War: An Analysis of the Causality of the â€Å"Counter Insurgency† Governmental Policies and the Presidential Campaign of 1968 This colloquium will define the connection between various sources related to the â€Å"counter insurgency† policies of the American government throughout the 1960s that caused a slow escalation of the Vietnam War in the fight against communist expansion in Southeast Asia. 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