Vietnam War: Peace and Legacy

1. Vietnam War – Part IV

2. Peace In Vietnam • After the 1972 election, Nixon escalated bombing of North Vietnam • By the end of the year, the western half of South Vietnam was in the hands of the Viet Cong • Nonetheless, the bombing forced the North Vietnamese to agree to cease-fire arrangements on January 23, 1973

3. Peace In Vietnam • Nixon said the cease-fire agreements amounted to “peace with honor”

4. Peace In Vietnam • In January 1973, the U.S., South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the Viet Cong signed a formal agreement in Paris. Among the provisions in the agreement were: • All U.S. forces would be withdrawn • All prisoners of war would be released • An international force would keep the peace • The South Vietnamese would have the right to determine their own future • North Vietnamese troops could remain in the South • The 17th parallel would divide the country until it could be reunited by “peaceful means”

5. Revelations About Cambodia • After the Vietnam cease-fire in January 1973, Nixon continued large-scale bombing of communist forces in order to help the Cambodian government and repeatedly vetoed congressional efforts to stop him • This caused disorder and civil war

6. American Withdrawal • This did not end the war between North and South Vietnam! • Fighting continued as both sides violated the truce • In the spring of 1975, North Vietnam began a new offensive against the South

7. Defeat of South Vietnam • The President was powerless because: • Two years before, Congress passed the War Powers Act, limiting the President’s war powers • Ford asked for military aid for South Vietnam, but Congress used the War Powers Act to say no • The last American troops were evacuated by helicopter on April 29, 1975 • By early May, the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell

8. Vietnam is Finally United • A military government was installed and on July 2, 1976, the country was united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam • Collaborators with the U.S. either fled or were interned in prison camps

9. Failures of Vietnam • Couldn’t tell who the enemy was • TV showed atrocities • The government lost the public’s support after lying to them • We underestimated the Vietnamese • We expected the war to be short, so we had no long-term plan • LBJ had to tread carefully or he would lose support for the Great Society

10. Failures of Vietnam • Civilian government leaders tried to restrain war, while military leaders wanted to expand it • Ho Chi Minh was a good leader; Bo Dai, Ngo Dinh Diem, and other in South Vietnam were bad leaders • Low morale among troops (drug use, fragging); enemy was motivated to win • S. Vietnam army was poorly trained • Didn’t win “hearts and minds” of Vietnamese

11. Failures of Vietnam • Poor strategies: • Bombing of tunnels and Ho Chi Minh trail • South Vietnamese put in “fortified villages” • Search and destroy didn’t gain territory • Vietnamization didn’t work because the South Vietnamese weren’t trained well enough • Agent Orange, napalm, atrocities didn’t win “hearts and minds” of the Vietnamese people • Lying or hiding things to the public about the war caused discontent

12. Legacy of the War • Longest war • Only war the U.S. lost • Death estimates: • 58,000 Americans dead; 300,000 wounded • 900,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong dead; 2 million wounded • 225,000 South Vietnamese dead; 550,000 wounded • The U.S. would spend millions of dollars locating troops MIA or still being held as POWs

13. Legacy of the War • Spent $150 billion and produced a huge national debt and growing inflation • More bombs fell on Vietnam than had fallen during WWII and the Korean War • Landscape was marred • With the North Vietnamese victory, Laos and Cambodia fell to Communism

14. Legacy of the War • Millions of Vietnamese (500,000 went to the U.S.), Laotians, and Cambodians fled their country by boat to escape communism • American troops were not welcomed home as that had been during WWII • America lost self-esteem, confidence in its military prowess, and economic power

16. Legacy of the War • There was distrust between the U.S. government and the American people • The war made the U.S. unpopular with Third World states and world public opinion • Vindictive U.S. policy ensured that Vietnam would continue to suffer economically because of a trade embargo

17. What Happened To Cambodia? • In 1975, Cambodia fell to the Khmer Rouge, who are a force of Communists. They were led by a brutal dictator, Pol Pot. They killed anyone remotely suspected of being pro-Western • In total, 2 million Cambodians (1/4 of the population) were shot, while the rest died of starvation, disease, or mistreatment in labor camps • He was forced from power after a Vietnamese invasion in 1978, followed by a military occupation that lasted for a decade

18. What Happened To Laos? • The Pathet Lao (a communist guerilla force) took over • They had been given supplies during the war from the North Vietnamese • America’s loyal allies, the Hmong, were the victims of Pathet Lao genocide • 100,000 escaped, but another 100,000 were killed in the genocide

19. Lessons of Vietnam • The difficulties of intervening in a foreign war • The pitfalls of incrementalism • The perils of underestimating an enemy • The U.S. is not all-powerful • Of making a commitment it may not be prepared to see through • Fighting to not lose a war, rather than to win

20. Lessons of Vietnam • The limits of public tolerance for questionable uses of military power abroad • If you are not honest with people in the beginning of the war, you will lose support in the end • Don’t apply some lessons from history to other countries • Don’t go it alone in a war – get support from allies

21. Lessons of Vietnam • Don’t fight a ground war in Asia because our troops might be outnumbered • Uncensored press can cause problems in a war

22. Aftermath of Vietnam • In 1982, a Vietnam Veterans Memorial was completed in Washington, D.C. to give veterans a sense that the war was worth something and to help heal the wounds of the war • In 1994, the U.S. ended an American trade embargo against Vietnam • In 1995, the U.S. agreed to restore full diplomatic relations with Vietnam

24. Aftermath of Vietnam • 10% of the bombs and shells went unexploded • Landmines litter the country • High rates of birth defects developed • Defoliants destroyed 15% of the timber and adversely effected the rice/fish industry