Paranoid about Communism, I'd say. Although it's strange that there is a communist country 90 miles from USA, yet USA went halfway around the world to ......fight communism. I'm confused.

So are you saying the Viet Nam war was entered into because of a deal the UN made back in 1945. France did start fighting in Nam the next year but I still don't really understand why we took over from them. I don't see the US owing France that support. I should probably say that I never full believed that the Maddox was actually attacked. Not because I believe in conspiracies but the incident seems improbable. The US authorities have admitted that the Maddox was on an intelligence patrol. The incident was reported as an attack, but if three torpedo boats attacked it wouldn't they have succeeded in damaging it more than they did? Doesn't it seem more likely that we were being observed and attacked them?

I was especially dis heartened by the efforts that Ho Chi Minh made trying to ally Vietnam with the USA prior to France leaving. At one time, people really believed those "American Myths" of freedom and democracy. Shortly after WW2 it still seemed real. Then came McCarthy....and Graham. The 60's enlightenment fizzled, and then Onward to the present day evangelicals.

No wonder they want to short circuit education and stamp out unpleasant truths.

@twill the sixties didn’t exactly fizzle, a president resigned, a war was stopped, and a new push for civil rights was enacted. That was a direct result of pressure from the so called left.

@twill In my reading about the subject I read that Ho Chi Minh once worked in America, in Boston no less in the kitchen of a downtown hotel, but that's not the interesting part, in his inauguration speech he quoted Thomas Jefferson. I found that surprising. I mean if he revered one of our founding fathers how did we miss the opportunity to negotiate our way to peace? Rather than sacrificing thousands of Americans, it seems like a dramatic failure. I understand a factor was arrogance but surely that isn't the only answer.

Stressed the hell out of Johnson. It compromised his Great Society agenda big time. Shows that anyone can sucked into some deep doo doo.

@Sticks48 I assume you mean that the "war killed....him". It was a sad human story, for sure

Brilliant response, thanks. I have never understood the rationale, now it all makes perfect sense.

@Geoffrey51 ah, it took me a long while too. history sometimes manages to piece itself together. other things remain mysterious... so far! anyway i forgot to mention what i guess most folks know, which is that eventually the geneva convention divided vietnam into two countries to allow the french, getting their asses whooped bigtime in the north, a chance to flee to the south (don't ask me why anyone thought that was a good idea -- look how well it worked in korea, right?)

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I agree with all you wrote but what do you believe about why were we there? If it was simply to draw a line in the sand so to speak, why bother with the whole hearts and minds bull? Was the Domino Effect put forth just to secure other military bases in the area?

@darkstar24 we may never know the whole story but i suspect we got ourselves into a tough spot we couldn't exit gracefully. pride played a role -- we wanted to be able to say we never lost a war. the red scare played its role of course. and then again there are all the economic benefits of war... benefits to the war machine anyway. i am sure it was not all one thing.

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