Dbq Vietnam War

The period from 1960’s to 1970’s was a hardship time for Americans because of Vietnam invasion. In an attempt to contain and defeat communism, the United States, oblivious of the enemy capability and filled with pride, invaded Vietnam at a cost of large financial expense and human lives. North Vietnamese military supported by forces of China and the Soviet Union fought the American force ferociously and was able to force America to end its invasion in 1975.

As with most other third world countries, Vietnam also has a long history of colonization by European powers. The territory that occupies modern-day Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, was part of French-Indochina, as one of France’s collection of many colonies. During World War II, France had

was going to save money. A wise decision would have been to raise taxes on American citizens in order to raise fund for the war. Lyndon B. Johnson, president of the United States at the time, was unwilling to raise taxes, which resulted in a horrible cycle of inflation4 and debt. Johnson’s arrogance and stubbornness not to raise taxes, consequently led America to a worse economy. This act of arrogance from Johnson further validates the argument: the U.S. should not have invaded Vietnam. If Johnson had started to tax the citizens, then it would have been far easier to fund for the war and subsequently the soldiers could have better living conditions, food supplies and shelter. This would have boosted the military force morale and this would in turn improve fighting capability and decrease loss of

Instead of assigning soldiers to fight, a lottery was needed to decide which soldier would be forced to battle against the dreaded North Vietnamese. The fighting force of the North was not the only petrifying aspect of Vietnam War. The weather conditions during the war were extremely harsh. For example, the temperature could reach up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit in addition to the humidity and torrents of rain7. The types of terrain included marshes, swamps, and jungles. Traps, which were set up by soldiers, women, and even children, were highly deadly8. One trap, called the grenade trap, would have grenades on opposite ends of a stream. These grenades would be connected with a trip wire, which was placed under water. If a person tripped over the wire, the bomb would detonate and result in multiple deaths. The U.S. army was not aware of these traps, which shows U.S. ignorance of the tactics involving traps and capabilities of the North Vietnamese forces. Invasion of Vietnam should not have started before a through intelligence about of the enemy ways and means of fighting back