Why did the US find it so Difficult to Disengage from the Vietnam War before 1975?

Essai , 2014 , 7 Pages , Note: 2.1

Histoire - Amérique

The United States committed officially 9 years of involvement to the Vietnam War. The United States signed the Paris Peace Accords on January 27th 1973 confirming that the United States would remove their troops from Vietnam and the war officially ended in 1975. The question as to whether the war could have ended sooner was raised by government officials during the involvement years, including Senator George McGovern who in a 1972 interview in The Free Lance-Star newspaper said that ‘if Nixon can end the war by November he could have stopped it during his first few months in the White House’. The question has also been raised by historians including John Maberry who suggests that ‘this war could have ended with the same result well before the 1973 cease-fire’ and Van Nguyen Duong who argues that ‘the war could not be ended sooner but was prolonged to the point it confused and demoralised the American people’ . This essay will assess the reasons for America’s long term involvement in the Vietnam War and the extent to which an earlier withdrawal was a possibility.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• Introduction
• Reasons for America's Long Term Involvement in the Vietnam War
• Honourable Exit
• Vietnamisation
• Paris Peace Talks
• The Mad Bomber Campaign
• Possible Earlier Disengagement
• LBJ's Attempts in 1965
• North Vietnamese Invitation in 1968
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte

This essay aims to assess the reasons for America's long-term involvement in the Vietnam War and the extent to which an earlier withdrawal was a possibility. It examines the motivations behind the US's prolonged engagement, including the desire for a "honourable" exit, the implementation of the Vietnamisation policy, and the challenges faced during the Paris Peace Talks. The essay also explores instances where an earlier disengagement might have been possible, highlighting the potential for peace negotiations in 1965 and 1968.

• The US's desire for a "honourable" exit from the Vietnam War
• The implementation of the Vietnamisation policy
• The challenges faced during the Paris Peace Talks
• The potential for earlier disengagement in 1965 and 1968
• The role of political factors in prolonging the war

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel

The essay begins by outlining the reasons for America's prolonged involvement in the Vietnam War. It argues that President Nixon and Henry Kissinger insisted on an "honourable" exit, which required a lengthy process to secure a favorable outcome. The essay then discusses the implementation of the Vietnamisation policy, which aimed to allow South Vietnamese troops to fight for themselves. However, the strategy faced challenges due to the strength of North Vietnamese forces and the perceived weakness of the South Vietnamese army. The essay also examines the difficulties encountered during the Paris Peace Talks, highlighting the mistrust between Thieu and Kissinger and the intransigence of Hanoi representatives. The essay concludes by exploring instances where an earlier withdrawal might have been possible, such as LBJ's attempts to initiate peace talks in 1965 and the North Vietnamese invitation for negotiations in 1968. The essay argues that these opportunities were ultimately missed due to political factors and the desire for a decisive victory.

Schlüsselwörter

The key themes and keywords of this text include the Vietnam War, US involvement, disengagement, Vietnamisation, Paris Peace Talks, Nixon, Kissinger, LBJ, Thieu, Le Duc Tho, honourable exit, peace negotiations, and political factors.

• Université: University of Central Lancashire
• Cours: Modern World History
• Note: 2.1
• Auteur: J. A. Lowe (Auteur)
• Année de publication: 2014
• Pages: 7
• N° de catalogue: V278879
• ISBN (ebook): 9783656715313
• ISBN (Livre): 9783656715276
• Langue: anglais
• mots-clé: difficult, disengage, vietnam