Official Claims To War In Vietnam

Official Claims to War Zone Realities

War in Vietnam was a very controversial topic during the 1960’s and 1970’s. During the beginning of the war, the United States citizens did not question entering another war. Although as the war progressed, there were claims that their military intervention was not just wrong but immoral. People began to lose trust in their political leaders due to the lies the government was feeding to its public. Claims about the status of the war, United States military policies, Vietnamese civilians, and the war goal all differed from the war’s reality.

American leaders tried to justify United States military intervention in Vietnam by claiming they were fighting for freedom. The public was led to believe the communists

policymakers talked about the war very differently based on who they were speaking to. President Johnson constantly revealed positive news to the public. He would tell everyone that a military victory was within reach, yet voiced doubt to his advisors. Lyndon Johnson has been quoted saying “I don’t think anything is gonna be as bad as losing, and I don’t see any way of winning” to his secretary of defense Robert McNamara (Why Are We In Vietnam?). The truth eventually came out on January 31st, 1968. A surprise attack led by communist troops on South Vietnam took place that day. The result was the death of over 500 American troops per week and psychological damage to the American morale. Despite American victory to drive out North Vietnamese troops out of South Vietnamese cities, the public began to question how such an attack became possible if U.S. government claims were true. Questions also arised about why the United States had to result to bombing the cities they claimed to be saving during this attack. The people were in disbelief the troops had to resort to such extremes when the government expressed military dominance throughout the war. The reality of the war set in and spiked the distrust of the American government among many. (The Tet Offensive and

Things were getting out of hand and Diem’s attempt to suppress the rebellion created more controversy. After more reported deaths of monks and raiding and imprisoning of monks, the United States acted. Diem was taken hostage on November 1963 and eventually executed. President Kennedy refused to admit involvement to his death, yet he was the deciding factor in his death. This death is an example of the4 official government claims about the war and the war’s reality because it demonstrates that the United States were not these world protectors of evil like they said to be. Instead John F. Kennedy sent the Central Intelligence Agency and American ambassador, Henry Cabot Lodge, to confirm to the United States generals in South Vietnam that there would be no retribution if there was an internal uprising against Diem’s rule (Appy