U.S. and Vietnam Relations
Since Clinton normalized relations in 1995, restoring full diplomatic ties between the United States and Vietnam, the two countries have been working towards a trade agreement for over four years. Finally July 13th of this year, the two finally signed a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) would open up Vietnam's growing economy, and increase trade between the two former enemies.
In spite of much protest from such groups as human-rights monitors and POW/MIA interest groups, who argue that such trade agreements will eliminate the pressure on Vietnam to improve human rights abuse, and POW/MIA accountability, the Clinton administration views the agreement as one that "has great potential benefits for both countries" (Landler). Supporters of the agreement assert that the relationship would not only increase trade with Vietnam, but would also support "important foreign policy goals of the United States including POW/MIA accounting, freedom of emigration, human rights, [and] regional stability . . ." (Peterson). Countering the criticism that trade relations with Communist Vietnam conflicts with human rights policies, supporters argue that, isolation would hinder progress regarding human rights concern and POW/MIA accountability, while engagement would
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If it receives congressional approval, the Bilateral Trade Agreement, would give American companies "opportunities to build relations that have never before existed in the history of U.S.-Vietnam relations" (Hauser). Under the agreement, Vietnam must cut tariffs on U.S.-manufactured goods and farm products, and it must provide greater protection for U.S. investors and intellectual property. Vietnam must also allow foreign companies to operate in areas such as telecommunications, insurance, and banking, which are presently closed to foreign
In 1971, John Kerry stood in front of the Senate and spoke about his experiences in Vietnam as a soldier. There would be many that would agree with his position, some that would disagree and ultimately some that had no strong opinion at all. John Kerry knew that although he was speaking to the senate he was also speaking to the American people and through his intentional way of speaking he used this to his advantage. In John Kerry’s speech, strongly opposing the Vietnam War, Kerry successfully uses his persona as one who experienced the war head on, to reveal the lack of morality in Vietnam and paint the war as barbaric acts with no true purpose behind them.
Chris Appy’s s American Reckoning is a book-length essay on the Vietnam War and how it changed the way Americans think of ourselves and our foreign policy. This is required reading for anyone interested in foreign policy and America’s place in the world, showing how events influence attitudes, which turn to influence events.
Lawrence’s purpose in writing this book was concise and to the point. In recent history, due to the fall of the Soviet bloc, new information has been made available for use in Vietnam. As stated in the introduction, “This book aims to take account of this new scholarship in a brief, accessible narrative of the Vietnam War… It places the war within the long flow of Vietnamese history and then captures the goals and experiences of various governments that became deeply embroiled in the country during the second half of the twentieth century” (Lawrence, 3.) This study is not only about the American government and how they were involved in the Vietnam conflict, but highlights other such countries as France, China, and the Soviet Union. Lawrence goes on to say that one of his major goals in writing this book is to examine the American role in Vietnam within an international context (Lawrence, 4.) Again, this goes to show that the major purpose of Lawrence’s study included not only ...
In conclusion, I think that the United States became increasingly involved in the Vietnamese War because of the policies they had made as a promise to fight communism, and because they had sorely underestimated Vietcong’s ability to fight back using Guerrilla warfare. They refused to pull out of the war in fear of losing face before the world, but this pride factor scored them massive losses in the war. In the end, with both side sustaining heavy losses, the US were still seen as mutilators in the war, with advanced showing what their intervention had costed, and Vietnam was still fully taken over by Communism – they had achieved nothing and lost a lot.
Vietnam was a highly debated war among citizens of the United States. This war was like no other with regards to how it affected people on the home front. In past war’s, the population of the United States mainly supported the war and admired soldiers for their courage. During the Vietnam War, citizens of the U.S. had a contradictory view than in the past. This dilemma of not having the support of the people originates from the culture and the time period.
This was implemented to end American involvement in the Vietnam War. They transferred troops to South Vietnam and strengthened South Vietnam’s military ability so they could withdrawal their troops. Eventually they negotiated a treaty with the North and completed the process of Vietnamization (“Vietnamization”).
The Vietnam War took place in between 1947- 1975. It consisted of North Vietnam trying to make South Vietnam a communism government. The United States later joined this conflict because of the stress North Vietnam was putting to South Vietnam to become a government that America did not want. The main reason why America joined was because of a theory called the Domino Effect. America and Russia were going through what has been dubbed the Cold War. The Domino Effect is the theory that communism will spread form one country to another. United states does not want this because our government is a democracy and communism opposes everything we stand for. America fearing communism was growing, stepped into Vietnam with America’s interest in mind, instead of Vietnam’s. There are several reason why American should have not gotten involved with this war. The most important reason was that America government officials made to much of a big deal about communism. This might sound cynical, but America to a certain degree did over react. Let it be said that it is much easier to say this after the fact. By looking back at McCarthyism, we can see the silliness of this fear. There is a serious side though. Thousands of people dies for a government that has no impact of their daily life. What regime Vietnam was going to change over to had no effect on the every day cycle of the United States. So truly, one can say, this can not one thing to do with America, its government and people.
Vietnam had no prosperous period before its independence in 1945. Since then Vietnam’s development path can be divided into three periods. The first period runs from 1945 to 1975 and was a period in which Vietnam was a major battleground of the Cold War with two Indochina wars. The First Indochina War (1946-1954) was between France, supported by the USA and its allies, and the communist force known as Viet Minh supported by China and the Soviet Union. The Second Indochina War was from 1954-1975. The USA and other members of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) combined with the forces of the Republic of Vietnam (the South) to fight against the army of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (the North), which was de facto supported by the Soviet Union and China. During this period, both market economy and central planning economic models were imported and mechanically applied in Vietnam. Neither model generated the expected results however, partly due to the two wars, a lack of necessary conditions for growth, and the general failure of the economic models adopted. As a result, real GDP per capita increased just 2.9 times (or 4.8% per year) over the period 1955-1973 (the peak year before the war’s end), with real GDP per capita increasing by just 64 percent (or 2.8 percent per year) (Tran et al. 2000).
So many things influenced our involvement in the Vietnam War, and Lawrence examines the decisions we made in a greater context than just our own. He argues that international pressures controlled the attitudes and ideas of the United States, for the most part.
Third, do we really know a country 8000 miles away from us? Knowing them so well that we are sure they would like our ideology. Fourth, our government had sent a “boy scout” to fight with those sophisticated Vietcong, some of our troops were composed of those people who just graduated from high school. In the 1960’s, according to the American government’s “Domino Theory”, if the Vietnam came under control of the communism, then the entire southeastern Asia would fall into communism too. Americans had already lost China, we certainly wouldn’t allow the southeastern Asia to follow in China’s footsteps, otherwise we would lose access to the huge resources and markets of Asia.
“In July 1965, Lyndon Johnson chose to Americanize the war in Vietnam.” Although Johnson chose to enter America into the war, there were events previous that caused America to enter and take over the war. The South Vietnamese were losing the war against Communism – giving Johnson all the more reason to enter the war, and allowing strong American forces to help stop communism. There were other contributing factors leading up to the entrance of the war; America helped assist the French in the war, Johnson’s politics, the Tonkin Gulf Incident, and the 1954 Geneva Conference. President Johnson stated, “For 10 years three American Presidents-President Eisenhower, President Kennedy, and your present President--and the American people have been actively concerned with threats to the peace and security of the peoples of southeast Asia from the Communist government of North Viet-Nam.”
The Paris Peace Accord agreement in 1973 ended the American military combatant involvement in the war and U.S. combat troops left the Republic of Vietnam. The U.S. government continued to aid South Vietnam to allow the government to achieve a more self sustainable state. The humanitarian aid project only left a couple thousand American employees at the Defense Attaché Office (DAO), Tan Son Nhut Airport, the U.S. Embassy compound in downtown Saigon, and four consulates at Da Nang, Nha Trang, Bien Hoa, and Can Tho with only a hand...
In Hayslip’s book When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, she talks about her life as a peasant’s daughter and her and her family’s involvement in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War has not only affected Vietnam itself, but also the United States, where in the beginning they did not want to get involved. However, with the spread of communism, which had already affected China, the president at the time Lyndon Johnson, thought it was time to stop the spread of the Vietnam War. With America’s involvement in the war, it caused great problems for both sides. In Vietnam, it causes the local people from the south and north side to split up and either becomes a supporter of communism or of the US’s capitalist views. In addition, it caused displacement for those local people, thus losing their family. In America, the Vietnam War has brought about PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, and deaths of many soldiers, more than World War II. With the thought of containment for communism, the US had gave back Vietnam their war and “gave up” on the war, leaving Southeast Asia in the sphere of communist views. With the thought of the domino theory that a country will fall in similar events like the neighboring countries, like China as Vietnam’s neighbor the United States tried to remove communism from Vietnam. US’s involvement in the war caused problems for both sides of the war.
The Vietnam War was the first major war American’s had suffered defeat. The Vietnam war was a war of confusion, competition and biasness. The outcome of the war was far greater than an upset American nation, but a severe breakdown of the Vietnamese culture, economy, environment and government. It also had a tremendous impact on American society even up to present day. It was unclear from the beginning of the war if the American’s should even be involved. It was a war between Northern and Southern Vietnam but the U.S saw it as an indirect way to challenge the USSR’s sphere of influence in Southern Asia and to prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism. The Vietnam War completely changed the way the United States approached military action and helped establish the role of the United States within the new world order.
Vietnam was a struggle which, in all honesty, the United States should never have been involved in. North Vietnam was battling for ownership of South Vietnam, so that they would be a unified communist nation. To prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism, the U.S. held on to the Truman Doctrine and stood behind the South Vietnamese leader, Diem.