The Pros And Cons Of The Vietnam War

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The Vietnam War can now be seen as a classic proxy war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The main reason that sparked the war was because of the split of Vietnam after French control. The split turned into the division of communist north Vietnam and south Vietnam, and as tensions grew led to a full war. Although it was technically a conflict between North and South Vietnam, this war included many nations because of the system of alliances. North Vietnam had the support of communist countries like China, the Soviet Union, and North Korea, while south Vietnam had the support of many other countries including the United States, Thailand, Australia, and SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization). The war started on November 1, 1955 …show more content…

Even with the different facts that show the negatives of the war, there are still some who argue that US involvement is important and necessary. In the” American Opinion Summary, Department of State for Vietnam, dated 10 September 1963” they declared, “The consequences of a collapse would be appalling. The war is not only a Vietnamese war but our war--a war from which we cannot retreat and dare not lose.” Many feared the collapse of capitalism and the rise of communism, which could make the war more relevant and substantial to them. Some will assume the worst and let that dictate their decision yet as mentioned earlier, losing actually wasn't as significant as some may have assumed. The consequences were not as dire as predicted. The Brookings Institution also claimed “Twenty-five years after the ignominious American withdrawal from what was then South Vietnam, this much is clear: the United States lost the war, but won the peace.” Losing a war is not usually described as “peaceful” so what would make this different? If losing instilled peace, then what would winning have brought? More importantly, what difference would it have made if we didn’t get involved at

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