Vietnam and how it ties in with the cold war. kennedies involvment

[Tauren]

ive been reading online for an hour on vietnam war and honestly i just cant get any of the above info. seriously its due in a few hours ive been up for 20 not going to bed in another 16

[obdigore]

Cold war as seen in the US was Democracy (US) vs Communism (USSR). The US Government decided to do everything they could to stop the 'terrible spread' of communism across the world, while promoting (through force and the arming/training of rebel groups) the spread of democracy.

Vietnam was a pretty large scale conflict in which both sides were provided either forces or materiel by their 'backers'.

That should be enough to help you get started. This info is all over, I'm not sure why you are having trouble finding it...

[Tauren]

that info is yes cold war i dont see how anything other then the 2nd line has to do with vietnam. i already have 2 paragraphs of jfk but now i need the 3rd that his him with how the vietnam war effected the cold war and kennedies involvment with it

[obdigore]

One more tidbit, because I love xkcd

http://xkcd.com/753/

Freedom = Democracy, not dirty stinking commies! (The commie part is a joke)

[Deleted]

It was an extension of a policy called "containment" the American response to the spread of Communism in the world. This had played out first in the Korean War where NATO drove out the Communists from the South and pushed into North Korea, but then the Chinese joined the North Koreans and pushed NATO back to Seoul. America feared that Communist regimes would become aligned with the Soviet Union giving them more brokering power in the Cold War. The Soviet Union and China did not directly involve themselves, but they supplied armaments and supplies to the NVA. For similar reasons, when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan (due to an internal communist coup which they did not actually organize) the USA supplied the Mujahideen with armaments and equipment to fight the Russians.

Kennedy's specific involvement I'm unsure about - he ramped up and sent "advisors" (soldiers, training officers) to Vietnam to support the American friendly regime in the country in anticipation of the official start of the war in 1965. Bear in mind the country had been in turmoil ever since the French had tried and failed to maintain their colonial influence there (not sure when that was - 50s sometime).

[anveena]

Kennedy just sent advisors/funds over to South Vietnam that's about it. LBJ was the one that sent in combat forces in 65.

[Jackmoves]

Look up the "Domino theory", that was part of the reasoning they had. They thought that if one country falls to the communists others will follow, it's an interesting idea, look at what have happend in north affrica for example to see a recent example. One country stood up and demanded changes and a lot of others countries followed.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domino_theory

[Byniri]

Pretty much everything that has been said.

The U.S saw Vietnam as part of the 'Domino Theory'; if one country in Southeastern Asia fell to Communism, the rest would soon follow. Based off of the idea of Containment (containing the spread of communism), the U.S sent in troops after the French pulled out of (then) French Indochina. While the Soviet Union was not DIRECTLY involved in combat, they helped arm the North Vietnamese army.

[Badpaladin]

ive been reading online for an hour on vietnam war and honestly i just cant get any of the above info. seriously its due in a few hours ive been up for 20 not going to bed in another 16

Put actual effort into papers rather than trying to take peoples' knowledge.

Closing.