Robert S. McNamara, appointed by John F. Kennedy to the position of U.S. Secretary of Defense in 1961, said about the Vietnam War, “It is important to recognize it’s a South Vietnamese war. It will be won or lost depending upon what they do. We can advise and help, but they are responsible for the final results, and it remains to be seen how they will continue to conduct that war,'; (McNamara 72). Despite these guidelines for assisting in the war, the U.S. would end up doing much more than just advising. The Vietnam War was supposed to be a demonstration of how willing the U.S. was to battle communism, but ended up a personal vendetta against the North Vietnamese as the U.S. escalated its commitment in Vietnam infinitely greater than it had ever intended. After World War II, France returned to Vietnam to reclaim their Indochinese colonies after the Ho Chi Minh had declared Vietnamese independence in 1945 (Goldstein 3). The U.S. had just ended a war started by German conquest in Europe, and now was being asked to help France conquer the colonies it lost control of during the war. The Vietnam Nationalists, the same ones who had supported the U.S. in the war against the Japanese not more than a year previous, sought only to peacefully gain their independence from France (Chant 25). In January of 1950, the Viet Minh gained recognition by the governments of the USSR and China, who supplied weapons and places to train (Chant 25). Because the two Communist superpowers recognized the Viet Minh, the Vietnam war became to the U.S. a struggle between capitalism and communism, especially since the Viet Minh were openly communist themselves. By aiding the French, the U.S. thought they were helping their free-trade ally France fight communism, the Communist Party was very strong in France (Goldstein 3). The U.S. feared that Vietnam would fall to communism, and set-off the “domino effect'; for other communist satellites in Indochina (McNamara 76). With weapons and training from Russia and China, the Viet Minh forced France to request help from the U.S. Fearing the spread of communism under Ho Chi Minh’s regime, the U.S. was glad to offer France assistance, but even after the French humiliation at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, the U.S. continued their involvement in Vietnam (Encarta “Vietnam War';). The Vietnam situation became a... ... middle of paper ... ... was willing to do everything in its power to stop any spread of communism, even in its least significant form? France was only looking to maintain its standing as a colonial power, and its goals and rewards were obvious. While France was still involved, the U.S. could share the same goals, but what could a country without colonial interests gain by fighting to put down a colonial independence movement? England had lost its American colonies because it was unfocused in exactly how to go about regaining control, and for the same reason, the France and the U.S. were unable to crush the nationalistic Vietnamese freedom fighters. Works Cited Chant, Christopher. The Military History of the United States: The Vietnam War, the Early Days, Marshall Cavendish, New York, 1992: 9, 22, 25, 38. Dougan, Clark. A Nation Divided, Boston Publishing Company, Boston, 1984: 48. Encarta. Encarta Encyclopedia, Microsoft Corporation, 1998, “Vietnam War.'; Goldstein, Donald M. The Vietnam War: The Story & Photographs, Brassey’s, Washington, 1997: 3. McNamara, Robert S. In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam, Times Books, New York, 1995: 72, 76, 218, 219, 220, 240.
The Vietnam War: A Concise International History is a strong book that portrays a vivid picture of both sides of the war. By getting access to new information and using valid sources, Lawrence’s study deserves credibility. After reading this book, a new light and understanding of the Vietnam war exists.
Robert S. McNamara's book, In Retrospect, tells the story of one man's journey throughout the trials and tribulations of what seems to be the United States utmost fatality; the Vietnam War. McNamara's personal encounters gives an inside perspective never before heard of, and exposes the truth behind the administration.
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.
After returning, Minh had help from the Vietminh; an organization of communist that wanted freedom from other countries. Their main goal was to turn Vietnam into a self-governed communist country. France wanted none of this non-sense. In 1945 they had moved back into southern Vietnam and ruled most of the cities. Ho Chi Minh swore to fight France to gain control of the whole country. U.S. promised to aid France, and sent almost $15 million worth of financial aid to France. The French fought for four years, being financially aided by the U.S. the whole time. The U.S. spent nearly one billion dollars in order to help France regain control of the tiny country. The only reason that much effort was put into a small area was the fear of the y. Domino Theory. The Domino Theory first showed it's head during a 1954 news conference by U.S. President Eisenhower. The domino theory is the fear of the spread of communism from one country to the next, and so on. Even with the assistance of the U.S. France could not gain the control it once had on Vietnam.
The first category is Bipolar I, which is diagnosed when a person has at least one manic episode or one mixed episode (where mania and depression occur at the same time). On average, four or more episodes are experienced in one year. (Staff, 2012) If left untreated, mania typically lasts seven days to a few months. Untreated depression can last six months to one year. Next is Bipolar II, which is diagnosed when a person has at least one major depressive episode and one hypomanic episode. They will not have had a full blown manic episode, or a mixed one. Then there is cyclothymia or cyclothymic disorder where there is a mood disturbance and shift, but far less severe than that observed in Bipolar Disorder. In order to be diagnosed, a person will have had this dysfunction for at least two years.
Bipolar disorder is a lifelong mood disorder characterized by periods of mania, depression, or a mixed manic-depressive state. The condition can seriously affect a person’s reasoning, understanding, awareness, and behavior. Acco...
The ‘Mountain Pine Beetle Program’ (2007), Canadian Government publication, stated that mountain pine beetles targets trees that are the oldest and sickest in that area, which keep the liveliness of the forest ongoing. The mountain pine beetles have been advancing since 1994 and in the past recent years, the magnitude and severity of this species has rapidly expanded (Taylor, S. W., & Carroll, A. L., 2003, pg. 10). “As of the year (2003), 4.2 million ha of red attack were recorded through aerial overview surveys in the province,” mentioned by ‘BC Ministry of Forests’ (2004). ‘The Forest Insect Survey Records’ demonstrate that there have been four to five notable outbreaks in British Columbia over the past 100 years (Taylor & Carroll, 2003, pg. 43), and Taylor & Carroll, (2003) stated that these outbreaks keep expanding over time towards the impacted areas. In the past, to control the pine beetles from getting over populated, we referred to the cycle of survival. Where our climates weather would take over, like cold winters and wildfires in the summer, and where woodpeckers would eat them to ensure that a handful of beetles only made it to adulthood (Mountain Pine Beetle, Canadian Government publication, 2007,
The Mountain Pine Beetle adult has the ability to survive anywhere from -11 to -25 degrees Fahrenheit. (MBP Symp 2003) (p.27). It does so by producing a polyhydric alcohol in its blood. (Somme 1964) .The MPB needed this defense, as exposure to cold temperatures was its number one predator. (Safranyik 1978) (p.225). That being said, it has a tremendous adaptation for fighting the cold. This adaptation can only go so far, as the cold temperatures used to prevent the MPB from reaching higher elevations and spreading. This is no longer the case though, as Professor Ken Raffa (2012) explains “Warming temperatures have allowed tre...
The book, We Were Soldiers Once... And Young, begins at a pivotal point in American history. The year was 1965; the year America began to directly interfere with the Vietnam affairs and send our young men to defend the notion of "freedom." During this year, Vietnam interested and concerned only a few Americans. In fact, the controversy of American involvement in Vietnam had hardly begun. But this all changed in November 1965 at the Ia Drang Valley in distant Vietnam. The Battle at LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany was the first major battle of the Vietnam conflict; a conflict that lasted decade and caused American turmoil for many more years.
The disorder is distinguished from Major Depressive Disorder by the presence of manic or hypomanic episodes. It comes from Schizoaffectice Disorder by the absence of psychotic symptoms, such as delusions, hallucination’s, during periods of stable mood. This disorder has a wide spectrum of disorders. One that includes in the spectrum is its beginning stage of Bipolar One. Bipolar One is characterized by a past of a least one manic episode, and usually depressive episodes. The next stage is Bipolar Two is characterized by the hypomanic episodes taking turns with depressive episodes. Cyclothymia is characterized by highs which satisfy some, but not completley all criteria for hypomania and lows which satisfy some but not all criteria for depression.
After World War II, the French began a fight for their former colony of Indochina, which included Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The French and other countries failed to see at that time the will and desire of the Vietnamese people to gain independence from foreign rule and to have their country unified. Ho Chi Minh, a Vietnamese nationalist, fought the French and overtook the North Vietnam capital of Hanoi with his followers, the Viet Minh, declaring the area the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. (Anderson, 2002) The French were unwilling to give up their colony and drove the Vietminh from many of the larger cities in the south. The United States entered the Vietnam struggle in 1950 when $15 million in aid was pledged to France in order to fight the Vietminh. (Anderson, 2002) The rationale was to align with France and keep the Soviet Union from expanding in Europe and to keep another country from falling into communist rule.
The United States involved themselves in Vietnam for four main reasons: they wanted to contain communism, prevent the domino effect, support a very weak South Vietnam, and get retaliation for being attacked. After seeing China fall to communism in 1949, Lyndon Johnson did not want to watch the same thing happen in Vietnam. He decided that the United States must fight to contain communism in Vietnam and prevent the domino theory. The domino theory simply stated that if one country fell to communism, neighboring countries would soon follow suit, falling like a set of dominos. Essentially, Americans believed that if South Vietnam fell, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand would follow. Also, South Vietnam could not stand against the Vietcong alone because they were too weak and ill-equipped to fight. The United States believed that with good government, a large scale and ...
Individuals with bipolar disorder typically experience unusual extremes of happy and sad emotions compared to those without bipolar disor...
Ambrosia beetles instigate damage to a variety of trees and their rapid progression can remain unnoticed. Depending on cool-season temperatures, PSHB larvae overwinter in burrows beneath the bark for about 5-7 months, where they become adults. Adults arise
Abernathy, Ralph. "The Vietnam War." The Sixties in America. Hackensack, New Jersey: Salem Press, March 1999. 753-755.