The Vietnam War
Why did the United States
use force?

National Interests:
o Containment & Domino Theory – Containment was a
central pillar of U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War,
aimed at preventing the spread of communism by the
Soviet Union. According to Kennan, the Soviet Union
saw itself in a “perpetual war” with capitalism and
sought to expand its influence by installing
“controllable” communist regimes in other countries that
would be hostile to the United States. Compounding
this fear, the domino theory hypothesized that if one
country fell to communism, surrounding countries would
soon fall as well.
o
What explains the timing of
U.S. escalation?
U.S. Credibility – In 1954, President Eisenhower had
committed the United States to defending South
Vietnam after the French withdrew. When considering
whether to escalate U.S. involvement later in 1964 and
1965, Johnson was worried that a failure to defend
South Vietnam would embolden the Soviet Union and
China to challenge U.S. commitments elsewhere.

Bureaucratic Politics: Johnson kept on key members of
Kennedy’s Cabinet (i.e. Rusk, McNamara, Bundy) who had
an individual stake in Vietnam’s outcome since they had
advocated Kennedy sending military advisors prior.

Domestic Politics:
o Shadow of Truman & Loss of China
o Anticipated criticism from Southern Democrats/Republic
party and its (anticipated) effect on public opinion.
o Linkage between success of the Great Society program
and success in Vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin Incident: In early August 1964, there were
reports that the North Vietnamese had fired upon believed
that two U.S. destroyers off the coast in the Gulf of Tonkin.
These alleged attacks prompted Johnson to seek
authorization for an increased U.S. military presence in
Vietnam, and a few days later Congress passed the Gulf of
Tonkin Resolution. This resolution authorized Johnson to
“take all necessary measures” to repel the North Vietnamese
and prevent further aggression. This resolution would provide
the legal basis for Johnson’s escalation in Vietnam in 1965
and Nixon’s expansion of the war into Laos and Cambodia.
What were U.S. goals?
What would have victory
looked like?

1964 Election: According to Herring, LBJ wanted to avoid
making a major escalation in Vietnam in the lead up to the
election, since part of his campaign had promised no wider
war. Plus, passing the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on its own
generated a rally large enough to get him through the
election.

Deteriorating Conditions in S. Vietnam: Ngo Dinh Diem, the
U.S.-backed President of Vietnam after the French-Indochina
war, was ambivalent to undertaking necessary reforms (like
land reforms) in order to undermine the Vietcong’s
insurgency. He was assassinated in 1963 in a coup d’état,
which was sanctioned by the U.S. Yet, the post-Diem
government in the South was no more effective or stable.
Riots broke out against the new leader, Nguyen Khanh in
November 1964, and another coup occurred in February
1965.
Goals:
 Maintain U.S. credibility.
 Prevent South Vietnam and surrounding countries from falling
to communism.
Victory:
 End the Vietcong Insurgency, and ensure South Vietnam as a
viable, stable state. (Attaining this objective would have to
involve South Vietnam enacting a series of political reforms).
 End North Vietnamese support for insurgency.
What military strategies did
the United States use?
Under LBJ:
 COIN in South Vietnam: In South Vietnam, the United
States was fighting the Vietcong, an insurgent group that
used guerilla tactics. A key part of COIN operations in the
south was the “Enclave Strategy,” where U.S. forces would
try to clear and hold areas that had been under the control of
the Vietcong. Importantly, there is a cautious element to this
strategy: U.S. soldiers could only undertake search and
destroy missions within 50 miles of their military bases in
order to minimize the risk of casualties.

Operation Rolling Thunder: This operation was a coercive
air campaign against North Vietnam that lasted from 1965 to
1968, chosen in lieu of a massive ground campaign. The
purpose of these bombings were to compel North Vietnam to
stop providing personnel and supplies to the Vietcong and to
agree to a peace deal in which North Vietnam would
recognize South Vietnam’s independence. This strategy of
coercion is distinct from other ways air power could be used
in war (See Lecture 7 for more). It includes intermittent
pauses in bombing in order to leave room for negotiation.
Under Nixon:
 Vietnamization: This strategy sought to shift responsibility for
fighting the Vietcong back towards the South Vietnamese
government. Nixon began pulling U.S. troops out of South
Vietnam, and those that remained were there to train the S.V.
army, not in combat roles.

Why was this strategy
chosen?
Coercive Bombing Campaigns: Nixon also expanded the
scope of the Vietnam War in many ways, including
conducting secret bombings in Laos and Cambodia to cut off
supply routes used by North Vietnam to supply arms to the
Vietcong insurgency in the South. These actions were
primarily aimed at North Vietnam and sought to compel them
to accepting a peace agreement favorable to the United
States.
Johnson’s Incremental Escalation:



Could not walk away from commitment for strategic and/or
domestic reasons (see above).
Major escalation of force and unrestrained use of ground
troops too costly domestically and could risk a wider war with
China and/or the Soviet Union.
Military advocated for a “fast and full squeeze” approach
attacking major industries and military targets while civilian
leadership advocated a “slow squeeze” in a gradual series of
attacks.
Nixon’s Approach:


Why was U.S. strategy
unsuccessful?
By time he entered office, most of the public was against
Vietnam. Many people in the government came to believe
that Vietnam was a huge mistake, and Nixon campaigned on
the promise of ending the war. Nixon homed that
“Vietnamization” would appease voters at home and reduce
U.S. casualties.
At the same time, he hoped to achieve a “peace with honor,”
which would require being able to demonstrate that the U.S.
was resolved to inflict high costs on NV through coercive
bombing campaigns.

Asymmetries of Resolve: North Vietnam and Vietcong
insurgents had more at stake (they were fighting for their
country) and were willing to incur more costs.

Stakes vs. Leverage: Because the “stakes” of losing Vietnam
to communism was too high for the United States, the United
States lost the “leverage” necessary to coerce South Vietnam
to undertake necessary political reforms.

Soviet/Chinese Aid: Both the USSR and China were providing
military aid to North Vietnam and the Vietcong insurgency in
the South. A full-scale ground campaign into North Vietnam
would risk a wider, more dangerous war with the Soviet Union
and China.
What are the key events in
the conflict? Why?

Domestic Political Constraints on Military: Civilian leaders
would often avoid using military force in a way that would be
politically risky, which could have undermined the war effort.
For example, the decision to use the draft with 12-month term
limits instead of calling up the reserves meant that 18-year
olds without much training or local knowledge were the ones
doing the bulk of the fighting the insurgency in South
Vietnam.

Tension in Coercive Bombing under Nixon: Wanted to
convince the North Vietnamese that the United States was
willing to impose unacceptably high costs on North Vietnam
for the foreseeable future while trying to get out of South
Vietnam by handing over military responsibility to them.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident (1964): [see discussion above]

Tet Offensive (1968): In January 1868, the North
Vietnamese and Vietcong launched a massive offensive of
coordinated attacks throughout South Vietnam. While the
United States quickly beat the offensive back, it was a
major political defeat for the United States and marked a
turning point in the war. These attacks demonstrated that
the United States was not almost about to win the war, and
it revealed the “credibility gap” between what the
administration had been saying and the reality on the
ground. Following the attacks, public support for the war
plummeted, leading Johnson to cap troop involvement at
540,000 and to withdraw from the presidential race.

Easter Offensive & Operation Linebacker (1972): In March
1972, North Vietnam launched a conventional invasion of
South Vietnam, making some initial territorial gains. The
United States responded with Operation Linebacker, and
North Vietnam suffered major losses due to the
conventional nature of the fight. These two events are
important because it created an incentive for North
Vietnam finally to negotiate with the United States,
although still not on the “peace with honor” terms.