Question

WILL GIVE AWARDS
Based on the United States government’s political and military objectives, do you think the Vietnam War was considered a success? give reasons either for or against the belief that it was a success.

Answer 1

The background is....It was American Cold War policy to try and prevent the spread of Communism, and to help peoples who were being attacked by Communists orchestrated by Russia ( then the Soviet Union). This policy was called the 'Truman Doctrine'. South Vietnam was being attacked by Communists backed by both Soviet Russia and Communist China. Kennedy per the Truman Doctrine sent military advisers and military aid 1961-63. However Kennedy, who had coolly seen the US through it's biggest Cold War crisis (the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962) was assassinated Nov. 1963, and his hot headed Vice President Lyndon Johnson took over.
Johnson afraid of 'losing' Vietnam to Communism, basically panicked and invaded the country starting Aug. 1964 with 500,000 US troops who would do the fighting for the South Vietnamese.
From the start it was a no win situation. The North Vietnamese and their guerrilla/ terrorist faction (the Vietcong) had unlimited man power (from a big population), unlimited supply from Russia, and the backing of both Russia and China. Despite being out numbered and asked to do the impossible the US military kept the Communists from taking over South Vietnam, as long as it was there, but only at huge expense and great cost (in American lives) and was blocked from winning by both Russia and China. Realizing his mistake Johnson stepped down in 1968, and Richard Nixon was narrowly elected President.
Nixon saw it as a point of personal and national honor that the US never 'lose' a war, and so despite campaign promises he kept US troops in Vietnam at huge expense and great cost in lives through the whole 4 years of his 1st term as President. He finally withdrew US troops in 1973. Without US troops constantly propping it up South Vietnam quickly fell to the Communists by 1975.
Those are the facts.
An interpretation of them might be....That although the US military succeeded in doing what it was asked (keeping South Vietnam from going Communist) it could only be done at a unsustainable cost in money and lives, and the Vietnam War was a clear loss because the US objectives of upholding the Truman Doctrine and stopping Communism could not be done in that case, and that it was a huge strategic mistake by President Johnson to send in American troops to fight in a no win situation, and a huge mistake by President Nixon to keep them there another 5 years just so he and the US wouldn't look bad.