Critical analysis of why America Lost the Vietnam War
by
saajidamragmailcom (student)
After world war two French indo-China, which had been a French colony, gained freedom from france by fighting a war. Vietnam defeated France despite being a small and relatively uncivilised country. At the Geneva conference in 1954 Indo-China was split into four separate countries. Two of these included Communist North Vietnam and Democratic South Vietnam. It had been agreed that national elections would take place. It was almost certain that the communists would win. The corrupt leaders of democratic South Vietnam refused to have this election.
The USA, being democratic and anti-communist took the side of Democratic South Vietnam. As rivalry broke out between north and South Vietnam, America felt stronger in its cause to destroy communism. America feared the domino theory, which meant that if South Vietnam fell to communism all the surrounding countries would follow the same path. USA’s goal was to destroy communism, where as the Vietnamese people’s plight was to gain freedom from another invader. America did not understand this and therefore thought that technology and bombs would make North Vietnam give up communism.