It is argued that American involvement in the Vietnam War is not justifiable; they were engaged in the wrong war, at the wrong time in the wrong place. I consider this assessment to be fair and the arguments of Carl N. Degler, Jon Roper and Nigel Cawthrone and others will be discussed in support of this argument. This essay will also elaborate on why I understand this assessment to be fair together with reasons why the involvement of the Americans in the Vietnam War was unjustifiable.
America’s motive for involvement was to halt and prevent the spread of communism and a containment strategy and foreign policy called the National Security Council Report 68, NSC-68 for short, was implemented to do so. Roper explains the introduction to a book …show more content…
Al Harrison, a civil rights organiser, said that the “[Americans] [have] no business fighting a yellow man’s war to save the white man.” , which is a statement coming from one of their own people. The involvement of the Americans was not only causing trouble and complicating matters in Vietnam but in their own country too. The American military being made up of only 8 percent black soldiers caused further conflict in America. Mass demonstrations in opposition to the war in Vietnam began in America and the majority of the demonstrators were students unconvinced that the nation should be heavily involved in the war. They were appalled at the destruction which the war entailed and Buddhists set themselves on fire to demonstrate their hostility toward the war. The New York Times even ran an anti-war ad signed by 6,400 academics. As these demonstrations grew stronger the President became more determined that he would not be deflected from his goal of victory, supporting the idea of omitting reason for involvement. Cawthrone explains that from all the anti-war demonstrations, opinion polls revealed disillusionment with the war throughout the nation supporting the idea that their own nation thought their involvement in the war is unjustifiable. Cawthrone also explains that while at war whole units of U.S soldiers would refuse to go into action. The objections by their own nation and troops sent to fight in the war should have been their first sign of their involvement not being justifiable, yet they wanted
America’s motive for involvement was to halt and prevent the spread of communism and a containment strategy and foreign policy called the National Security Council Report 68, NSC-68 for short, was implemented to do so. Roper explains the introduction to a book …show more content…
Al Harrison, a civil rights organiser, said that the “[Americans] [have] no business fighting a yellow man’s war to save the white man.” , which is a statement coming from one of their own people. The involvement of the Americans was not only causing trouble and complicating matters in Vietnam but in their own country too. The American military being made up of only 8 percent black soldiers caused further conflict in America. Mass demonstrations in opposition to the war in Vietnam began in America and the majority of the demonstrators were students unconvinced that the nation should be heavily involved in the war. They were appalled at the destruction which the war entailed and Buddhists set themselves on fire to demonstrate their hostility toward the war. The New York Times even ran an anti-war ad signed by 6,400 academics. As these demonstrations grew stronger the President became more determined that he would not be deflected from his goal of victory, supporting the idea of omitting reason for involvement. Cawthrone explains that from all the anti-war demonstrations, opinion polls revealed disillusionment with the war throughout the nation supporting the idea that their own nation thought their involvement in the war is unjustifiable. Cawthrone also explains that while at war whole units of U.S soldiers would refuse to go into action. The objections by their own nation and troops sent to fight in the war should have been their first sign of their involvement not being justifiable, yet they wanted