Vietnam Foreign Policy
...once called the conflict “the most disastrous of all America’s undertaking over the whole 200 years of its history.” In retrospect, few people would now disagree. At first, the Vietnam War seemed simply one more Third World struggle on the periphery of the Cold War to tip the balance against communism without becoming too deeply or straightly engaged. No president really decided to go to war in Vietnam. Rather, the American involvement there emerged from years of slowly increasing commitments that gradually and barely expanded.
Vietnam had a long history both as an independent kingdom and a major power in its region, and as a conquered province of China; its people were both proud of their past glory and painfully aware of their many years of conquest. In the mid-nineteenth century, Vietnam became a colony of France. And like any other European possessions in Asia, it fell under control of Japan during World War II. The French wanted to restate their control over Vietnam. Challenging them was a powerful nationalist movement within Vietnam committed to creating an independent nation. The French argued that without Vietnam, their domestic economy would collapse. And since the economic revival of Western Europe was quickly becoming on of the Truman administration’s top priorities, the United States did nothing to stop the French as they moved back into Vietnam in 1946 and began a struggle with the Vietminh to recreate control over the country. The French appealed to the United States for support; and in February 1950, the Truman administration formally recognized the Bao Dai regime and agreed to provide it with direct military and economic aid. The first Indochina War existed and the defense of Dien Bien Phu collapsed. The French government decided the time had come to get out. The First Indochina War had come to an end.
An international conference at...
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