ATP: The Vietnam War Was Not Inevitable: H. R. McMaster
Thesis:
The main argument of this document is that the Americanization of the Vietnam War was not inevitable because President Johnson relied too much on his civilian advisors, McNamara’s arrogance affected how the United States acted during the War, and the Johnson’s administration deliberately avoided defining strategies for their own self interest.
Evidence:
The author of this document, H.R. McMaster, believes that Johnson relied too much on the advice of his civilian advisors and did not listen to his military advisors: “When the situation in Vietnam seemed to demand military action, Johnson did not turn to his military advisers to determine how to solve the problem. He turned instead …show more content…
. . for fear that acknowledging the growing extent and cost of the war would thwart his domestic reforms, while pursuing a course of withdrawal risked political ruin” (VanDeMark 361). Out of options, Johnson decided to obscure the magnitude of the problems in Vietnam, and hid the truth from the American people. He felt that he needed to do this because he wanted support for his reforms and had such pressures on him to Americanize the Vietnam War.
In addition to Johnson’s missteps in the War, VandeMark goes on to show that the americanization of the Vietnam War was inevitable because of the political diarray in South Vietnam: “The perennial absence of stable and responsive government in Saigon troubled Washington policymakers profoundly . . . its pivotal important to the war effort and to the social and economic reforms essential to the country’s survival” (VanDeMark 364). This shows that the United States had to be involved in the War in order to provide South Vietnam with any chance of winning and preserving capitalism.
Critical
Thesis:
The main argument of this document is that the Americanization of the Vietnam War was not inevitable because President Johnson relied too much on his civilian advisors, McNamara’s arrogance affected how the United States acted during the War, and the Johnson’s administration deliberately avoided defining strategies for their own self interest.
Evidence:
The author of this document, H.R. McMaster, believes that Johnson relied too much on the advice of his civilian advisors and did not listen to his military advisors: “When the situation in Vietnam seemed to demand military action, Johnson did not turn to his military advisers to determine how to solve the problem. He turned instead …show more content…
. . for fear that acknowledging the growing extent and cost of the war would thwart his domestic reforms, while pursuing a course of withdrawal risked political ruin” (VanDeMark 361). Out of options, Johnson decided to obscure the magnitude of the problems in Vietnam, and hid the truth from the American people. He felt that he needed to do this because he wanted support for his reforms and had such pressures on him to Americanize the Vietnam War.
In addition to Johnson’s missteps in the War, VandeMark goes on to show that the americanization of the Vietnam War was inevitable because of the political diarray in South Vietnam: “The perennial absence of stable and responsive government in Saigon troubled Washington policymakers profoundly . . . its pivotal important to the war effort and to the social and economic reforms essential to the country’s survival” (VanDeMark 364). This shows that the United States had to be involved in the War in order to provide South Vietnam with any chance of winning and preserving capitalism.
Critical