The US failure in Vietnam Essay Example for Free

The US failure in Vietnam Essay Examine the view that the US failure in Vietnam resulted more from losing the hearts and minds of the American people than from military defeats The US failure resulted more from losing the hearts and minds of the American people than from military defeat due to many reasons such as the Tet Offensive and ruthlessness in Napalm, My Lai, etc. However, there were other factors such as the loss of confidence by Johnsons administration and the communist popularity and ingenuity that also resulted in the US failure in Vietnam. One of the main reasons the Americans could not defeat the communists is because they were unable to win the hearts and minds of American people. Americas inability to distinguish the enemy meant that their tactics did not work and led to further failure. My Lai on 16th March 1968 was an example of American hatred of the Vietnamese. 347 unharmed civilians were beaten and killed by American soldiers and their officers. Women were beaten and shot and water was contaminated by buffalo, pigs and chickens being dropped in wells. Generally, the Americans were better at winning the hearts and minds however they were ruthless when necessary. Operation Phoenix was introduced whereby thousands of Vietcongs were sought out and interrogated. Few of these came out alive. This shows that torture was normal and that there was a lack of military tactics and the extent the Americans would go to find out who the enemies were. Moreover, the ruthlessness of Napalm and its victims who were melted into a kind of gelatine and some of who were disfigured lived in caves and remote areas. Also Agent Orange which was used to defoliate 20% of South Vietnams jungles so the enemy could be seen more easily had a tremendous impact; there were incidents of cancer and toxic related diseases which still remains high in Vietnam. Therefore due to all the torturous methods and killings, the US lost the hearts and minds of the American people. America was unable to win the war as their attitudes to the Vietnamese made it difficult to. They never really understood any of the Vietnamese people and classed them as less than human. Furthermore, Americas failure was due to the actions of both Washington and Saigon frequently antagonising the South Vietnamese peasants. Once the Americans entered Vietnam life for the South Vietnamese went from bad to worse. American bombing and Diems strategic hamlets programme forced many peasants to move away and away from the things which meant a lot to them such as crops. Johnson usually tried to avoid targeting non-combatants; however this was difficult as they never knew who their enemies were. However, due to the Americans fighting a Comfortable war, the soldiers became unmotivated and ineffective. American army officers were less experienced than some soldiers he commanded and unpopular officers were shot. It was therefore hard to win the war with so many inexperienced and increasingly unpopular officers. Moreover, the average age of a Grunt in Vietnam was 19 which made them vulnerable. Many shot themselves in the foot or hoped for a small wound, but they never felt safe. Any time Americans or ARVN moved out of an area, the communists would move in. There were a lot of booby traps which wounded 20% of American victims. There were many traps as such which blew away limbs and resulted in huge explosions. The trouble for the Americans was that they never knew which Vietnamese was the enemy, which also was demoralising as they didnt want to hurt innocent victims. Therefore it was hard to win the war when Grunts were demoralised and terrified which links to losing the hearts and minds of the American people. Furthermore, over 8 million volunteered to serve in the army as they were inspired by a sense of duty, patriotism, family tradition or a sense that communism should be stopped. Many wanted to learn new skills such as fighting or enjoyed the war (found it fun to fight, the drama and heroics). Others enjoyed killing other men, but this always attracted the army. However, there was a lack of realism as there were bad soldiers who were not properly trained for the war. This helps to explain why these men were unable to defeat the communists. The Navy did not like taking orders from Westmorelands ground army and they did not get along. The soldiers did not believe in what they were doing and disagreed with tactics. There were a higher proportion of black soldiers who were combat troops rather than doing desk jobs which shows the racial discrimination of the US. Therefore this links to losing the hearts and minds of the Americans and many back individuals would not support the US for doing such things. Furthermore, there were discipline problems; $10,000 reward for the death of the officer responsible for Hamburger Hill. Additionally, there was an anti-war feeling at home which was lowering morale. There was lack of motivation therefore the men were not going to do well and they were not fighting properly therefore they were not going to win. However, the communists on the other hand, had high motivation and they knew what they were fighting for unlike the US. Many soldiers never actually fought in the war, they had to organise the American lifestyle for everyone else. Westmoreland said that the only way soldiers would fight is by a comfortable war which would be motivating. This was important as the communists had ideological motivation unlike the Americans. Army discipline was a problem due to drugs, STDs, prostitution, which led to problems in battle. Many soldiers were dent to Saigon or Japan for RR. Lots of children were fathered by Americans. Overall, everything was made to feel comfortable and the US bribed its soldiers. But they just felt soft. The US openly admitted that their strategies were wrong and that they should have targeted the North. There was a search and destroy mission to clear out any VC. There was only 1% success and there was mostly children casualties. There was a huge fall in morale because as soon as the US cleared an area, the VC would be there, therefore there were no gains. This also links to the poor hearts and minds feeling of American people as many children were being killed. Also, the VC could tell when the US were approaching as they used hi-tech weapons which did not suit Guerrilla Warfare. Moreover, another reason that the US failed in Vietnam was due to communist popularity and ingenuity. The VC won the admiration from American foes as they were inspired by communism and nationalism. They went through a lot of trauma such as skin diseases. This helped the communists win as they out laughed the Americans and proved that they could put up with anything. Furthermore, the battle of la Drang was a good illustration of communist determination and it helped insure ultimate victory. There was a network of tunnels set up underground where the VC could hide, shelter and regroup. Both sides thought they won. However the US could not cope with 300 of their men dying therefore they lost morale, even though the VC lost more men. This links to the morale at home as people were dying which links to losing the hearts and minds of American people. As there were underground communist organisations, the communists knew when they would attack therefore they were one step ahead of the US and they could deal with it in advance. In addition, Saigon became an unsavoury city in the US war years. This made the country weaker and weakened the army and there was a negative impact of US on Saigon. Due to drugs and prostitution, the Vietnamese could not concentrate on the war as much as they were concentrating on what Americans were doing. Overall, US failure in Vietnam resulted more from losing the hearts and minds of the American people than from military defeats because what it came down to in the end was the support the US lacked as their tactics were not working and they were killing innocent victims as they never knew who their enemy was. US failure in Vietnam was also due to communist popularity and ingenuity and the fact that they knew what they were fighting for and had the knowledge of Vietnam that the US lacked. Therefore, although the failure in Vietnam was due to military defeat, it was more from losing the hearts and minds as people were unmotivated.

Catch 22 :: essays research papers

America has been involved in the cold war for years. The fear of communism is ruining lives. The country moves closer and closer to the Korean war. Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 is published. 1963- College students are seen wearing army fatigues with "Yossarian" name tags. Reports are being made about a "Heller Cult". Bumper stickers are manufactured which read, "Better Yossarian then Rotarian". The phrase "Catch 22" has surfaced meaning a "no win situation" it is now an excepted word in the English dictionary. Such a dramatic change in opinion from the earlier, Pro-war society, it is obvious that Catch 22 had some impact on the anti-war movement of the 1960’s-1970’s. Not to say the book was the one reason the movement started, It was certainly a catalyst. A protest novel, Heller’s story portrays the absurdity of bureaucracy, the stupidity of war, and the power they both have to crush the human spirit. Heller us es a war zone setting, to satirise society at large. He compares the commanding officers to Incompetent businessmen. "Don’t mumble, and mumble "sir" when you do, and don’t interrupt, and say "sir" when you do." Desiring promotion over every thing else, Colonel Cathcart keeps raising the number of missions the men of his squadron must fly. Even though the army says they need fly only forty, a bureaucratic trap called "Catch 22" says they can’t go home at forty because they must obey their commanding officers. Much like the work place, the men are forced to go through endless amounts of red tape, which hardly gets them anywhere. Yossarian tries to pretend he is crazy to get out of fighting. He signs "Washington Irving" on letters he censors, and walks around naked for a couple of days. If someone is crazy he needs only ask and he can be dismissed from duty. Yet, one would be crazy to fly, and only a sane person wou ld ask to stop, Yossarian is therefore not crazy and is ordered to continue flying his missions. Heller also demonstrates the effect war has on one’s mind. All of the pilot’s are coping (except Yossarian) with the war in different ways†¦The daredevil pilot, McWatt, loves to buzz his friend Yossarian’s tent. Mess officer Milo Minderbender turns his job into an international black-market food syndicate. Lead Bombardier Havermeyer Zeros in on target’s, no matter how much anti-aircraft peppers his plane.

Andres Bonifacio: Story of Life Essay

Bonifacio was the son of Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro in Tondo, Manila, and was the eldest of five children.[7] His father was a tailor who served as a tenyente mayor of Tondo, Manila, while his mother was a mestiza born of a Spanish father and a Filipino-Chinese mother who worked at a cigarette factory. As was custom, upon baptism he was named for the saint on whose feast he was born, Andrew the Apostle. Bonifacio’s normal schooling was cut short when he dropped out to support his siblings after both their parents died of illness. He sold canes and paper fans he made himself and made posters for business firms. In his late teens, he worked as a mandatory for the British trading firm Fleming and Company, where he rose to become a corregidor of tar, rattant and other goods. He later transferred to Fressell and Company, a German trading firm, where he worked as a bodeguero (storehouse worker). Bonifacio was also a part-time actor who performed in moro-moro plays. Not finishing his normal education, Bonifacio was self-educated. He read books about the French Revolution, biographies of the Presidents of the United States, books about contemporary Philippine penal and civil codes, and novels such as Victor Hugo’s Les Misà ©rables, Eugà ¨ne Sue’s Le Juif errant and Josà © Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Aside from Tagalog and Spanish, he could speak a little English, learnt from his working for J.M. Fleming and Co.[8] Bonifacio was married twice, first to a certain Monica who died of leprosy. He then married Gregoria de Jesà ºs of Caloocan in 1893. They had one son named Andrà ©s who died in infancy of smallpox (Chickenpox). In 1892 he joined Rizal’s La Liga Filipina, an organisation which called for political reform in the colonial government of the Philippines. However, La Liga disbanded after only one meeting as Rizal was arrested and deported to Dapitan in Mindanao. Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini and others revived La Liga in Rizal’s absence and Bonifacio was active at organising local chapters in Manila. La Liga Filipina contributed moral and financial support to Propaganda Movement Filipino reformists in Spain.

The United States And Latin American Relations - 1377 Words

The United States has been a heavily involved in Latin American affairs for a long time, and there is great controversy surrounding how good of a neighbor we have been. As the â€Å"Colossus of the North†, this country holds enormous power. The question is; have we used our power for good or for evil? At times, we have been generous to Latin American countries. We returned the Panama Canal to the Panamanians and created free trade with Mexico through NAFTA. However, the negative impact we have had outweighs the good. Time after time, the United States has put dictators into Latin American countries out of the fear of growing communism. We have meddled, taken the situations of our neighbors into our own hands with force, and vilified them for situations like the drug trade dilemma that are partially at the fault of the United States. Due to the selfish overstepping upon Latin American governments, our discrimination and blame upon immigrants and foreigners as well as patronizin g actions like the Cuban embargo and the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, the Colossus of the North has historically been a poor neighbor to Latin American countries. During the Cold War Era, anti-communist countries like the United States took drastic measures to eliminate communism. Tension spread worldwide and a lot of violence sprung from the feud between communist and anti-communist parties. Many Latin American countries in this time were under a communistic rule and the United States didShow MoreRelatedWhat Effect Did The Good Neighbor Have On The Relations Between The United States And Latin American Countries From1116 Words   |  5 PagesWhat effect did the Good Neighbor have on the relations between the United States and Latin American countries from 1933 to 1939. 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