I. US involvement in Indochina

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• I. US involvement in Indochina
• Vietnam (Laos, Cambodia) all part of Indochina
  region between India and China
• Note The Vietnamese Declaration of Independence
  begins with We hold these truths to be self
  evident, that all men are created equal and
  endowed by their creator with certain rights,
  among these life, liberty and the pursuit of
  happiness (Ho Chi Minh in August 1945)

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• a. French and Bao Dai
• Fear was a French defeat would lead to the
  communist dominating Asia
• May 1954, Dien Bien Phu, epic battle, France got
  stomped, ended French occupation, but certainly
  not hostilities
• b. South Vietnam becomes a republic
• Headed by Ngo Dinh Diem, Tyrant
• Free elections to be held, Ngo had no chance to
  get elected (vs. Ho Chi Minh)
• Much opposition Ngos leadership (Buddhist monk
  self-immolations)

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• c. Divided along the 17th Parallel
• North and South divided at the 17th parallel
• Free passage North/South, to any who wanted to
  migrate (many more migrated South than to the
  Communist North)
• d. Domino Theory and the US
• US sends advisors
• Mostly Green Berets Special forces who train
  others within their own country to carry on their
  own revolution
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vLH4-tOqLH94

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• e. LBJ the Escalation of the War
• Tonkin Gulf Incident alleged attack on US Navy
  vessels by North Vietnamese patrol boats,
  doubtful then, today, we know
• Tonkin Gulf Resolution, authorized the President
  to escalate troops in Vietnam (only 1 vote
  against)
• f. Viet Cong
• Viet Congsang (or Vietnamese who are Communists)
  Insurgents in the South who fought against US
  presence

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• g. A war of attrition
• Kill more of them than they kill of us, make them
  tire of the war
• Wars end, 58,000 Americans, over 1 million of
  the Viet Cong North Vietnamese
• h. Early opposition
• College opposition, peace movement
• SDS Students for a Democratic Society one of
  the lead organizers of war protests
• Much draft resistance, burning draft cards
• Some fled to Canada, draft dodgers

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• i. Problems on the front
• My Lai Lt. William Calley entered with troops,
  slaughtered everyone, men, women, children
• Agent Orange, a defoliant sprayed from planes to
  kill vegetation, making it easier to see
  combatants
• j. Tet Offensive
• Vietnamese New Year (1968)
• General uprising against US forces
• Military blunder, but political victory as it
  became clear to people at home, the war wasnt
  going well

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• k. Vietnamization
• Nixon has a secret plan to end the war
• Planned to turn the responsibility of the war
  over to the Vietnamese (ARVN)
• ARVN, Army of the Republic of Vietnam, not noted
  for their bravery or willingness to fight
• l. Pentagon Papers
• Pentagon study of US and Vietnam, outlined the
  errors, proves administration lies and deceptions
  
• Daniel Ellsberg steals a copy, sells it to the
  New York Time for publication

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• m. Credibility Gap
• Publication widens the gap between what the
  government says and what people believe
• Nixon administration becomes distrustful, even
  paranoid

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• The End of Part 8