Causes+5.24.10

The Causes: Vietnam After WWII, there was much turmoil in Vietnam. The French were returned to power after WWII because they had ruled there before the war. The Vietnamese wanted independence. The revolution leaders were communist. They tried to get the French out of Vietnam. The US sent an aid package to the French to help them stop this spreading of communism. The French are still being defeated. In a conference held in Geneva, the fighting ends. The countries agree to stop fighting. The French will move out and the country will be divided. Nationwide elections will be held and the people will decide between Communism and Democracy. The US does not agree to this and this will lead to tension in Vietnam.

After the fighting ended, tensions rose with the US and the US would do anything to stop communism from spreading. The elections that were to be held did not occur. The US did not want them to. Diem, the South Korean Democratic leader is not popular. The US wants him out., and he is removed by South Vietnamese operatives and the new leader is still unpopular. This happens repeatedly. The Vietcong are attacking the South Korean army throughout this time. The South Koreans are obviously losing. In the Gulf of Tonkin, a US destroyer is fired on and the US uses this as an excuse to enter the war. Operation Rolling Thunder is enacted and US Marines land at Danang. The war is fought with much protest and the people do not like it. South Koreans are not happy. In this time period, the US is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The fighting in Vietnam was very hard on the American soldiers. The conditions were very harsh. Operation Rolling Thunder was an initial plan to bomb North Vietnam until they were petitioning for peace. This operation did not work in that way, but they did help out later in the war.