The Domino Theory the Main Reason for US Involvement in the Vietnam War

Some claim the domino theory was the important explanation for the US intervention in Asia as it halted communist progress, The Domino Theory was the belief that communism was spread from a single nation to its neighbours and so on. It was based on an analogy with falling dominos, that was popularised by Eisenhower in the 1950s and became extensively accepted this was partly supported by the Soviet-led Comintern, which promoted communism around the planet. On March 8, 1965, 3,500 United States Marines came ashore at Da Nang as the very first wave of U.S. combat troops into South Vietnam for the so called objective of containment and defence against communism.

Other folks argue that it was a simplistic theory which failed to acknowledge that Asian communism was motivated by nationalism as considerably as by the push for ‘world revolution’. this theory is supported by Gabriel Kolko, he stated “impossible, undesirable, and harmful for…any state to seek to guide the improvement of an additional nation or area.” As America did in Vietnam with their intervention. The domino theory was supported by the belief that communism was an aggressive, expanding imperialism that would spread from one nation to the next, till it dominated the planet. The left wing writer Noam Chomsky refers to this as the “threat of a good instance.” they feared a communist takeover of Vietnam would mean that communists would then take more than other nations in Southeast Asia that may possibly come to threaten US allies such as the Philippines or Japan. China had fallen to communism in 1949, and America had fought in Korea in 1950-53 to contain the spread of communism.

This concept shaped US and Western foreign policy in the course of the Cold War and the Vietnam war, especially with regard to Asia, President Eisenhower announced “You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the 1st 1, and what will come about to the final 1 is a certainty that it will go more than quite quickly.” Eisenhower’s announcement laid the foundation for U.S. involvement in Vietnam which was then later emphasised by the the then Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs” It is typically acknowledged that if Indochina were to fall. Burma and Thailand would stick to suit practically quickly.” This suggests the domino theory played a significant part in the early involvement of the Vietnam conflict. As a result, the domino theory was an incredibly substantial reason for the US to get involved in Vietnam as with out the ‘threat’ of communism via the domino theory the Vietnam war would not exist. Nonetheless, the ideas of, America’s international presence, European pressure and war for profit had been also essential.

Andrew F. Krepinevich states Communism was a minor threat to American imperialism and Vietnam in the 1960s was from the forefront of the movement. The definite defeat of the French is a important point that led to elevated US involvement in the issues in Vietnam. Following the defeat of the French the country split in two, the North becoming communist, lead by Ho ChI Minh who wanted to take over the south. In September 1945, Ho ChI Minh proclaimed Vietnam’s independence from France. This was the beginning of a war that pitted Minh’s communist-led Vietminh regime in Hanoi against a French-backed regime in Saigon.

Beneath President Harry S. Truman, the U.S government provided covert military and financial help to the French and the south Vietnamese the rationale was that a communist victory in Indochina would spread communism throughout Southeast Asia. Using this very same logic, Truman also gave aid to Greece and Turkey in an effort to conform to his thought of “containment” in the Truman Doctrine. The ultimate view of the US government was that communism need to be contained. Communist ideology itself contained proof to validate this argument. The writings of Russian Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin referred to as for ‘international revolution’ by way of communism. Populations that contained huge numbers of peasants were especially susceptible to communist propaganda and recruitment. Suggesting that the idea of the domino theory was not false concern held by the US.

In addition, when china began to give the Viet Minh with important military supplies in the 50s. This made the Americans feel a lot more strongly about acquiring involved with the conflict in Vietnam particularly as its governments and borders have been weak, putting the notion of containment, by way of the Truman Doctrine into action. Containment was accepted as truth by all US presidents throughout the Cold War and became an underlying principle in American foreign policy and justification. However, the domino theory is now largely discredited, possessing failed to take into account the character of the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong struggle in the Vietnam War. America assumed Ho Chi Minh was a pawn of the communist giants Russia and China, American policymakers failed to see that the purpose of Minh and his supporters was Vietnamese independence, the American men and women saw communism as a direct threat to their security as The notion of the Domino theory was induced into the mindset of the American folks through propaganda within the media.

In February 1965, a poll was performed exactly where an overwhelming majority of folks (78 % to 10 %) said they believed that if the United States withdrew from South Vietnam, “the Communists would take over all of Southeast Asia.” the domino theory was used to intimidate the American people, scaring them into supporting American involvement “If you let a bully come into your garden, the next day he’ll be in your porch, and the day following that he’ll rape your wife”. This suggests that the significance of the domino theory could have been exaggerated to align with America’s national agenda.