Who was more to blaim for the war in Vietnam?

iraq51

True JFK continued and expanded the US advisory role started by Eisenhower. The LBJ went ballistic and eventually had more than 536,000 troops in Vietnam.

Personally I blame the French. They fought a colonial war with Vietnam (at the time still a single, united country...as it is today) from 1945 to1954. The US had given the army of Vietman $2.6 billion during their struggle for independence...sound familiar?

Ho Chi Minh as the leader of the Vietnamese army; as he was during the American War as the Vietnamese called the Vietnam War.

In 1954 the French were drawn into battle in a valley at Dien Bien Phu. This was their last and most costly battle. Some 6000 French troops died and over 10,000 French soldiers were taken prisoner.

The French....well, bailed leading to a peace conference in Geneva where Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam received their independence. Vietnam was temporarily split into north and south.

In 1958 with the continued communist influence in Vietnam and south east Asia Esienhower sent 2000 US military advisers to the south. By 1963 under Kennedy the advisors had reached 16,3000 and then on to LBJ.

And why do I blame the French....if they had just held on to keep Vietnam their colony to this day then we never would have lost over 58,000 troops.

OK...unrealistic and the French surrender monkeys hadn't won a war since the musket was the modern weapon of war...but I thought a brief history of how the war started might clarify my choice for Presidential blame.

pop

George W Bush

Jeff F

We went in because of the ******* french, we had pull their weenies out of the fire again. We went in and they made a hasty retreat, it's what they're best at. Just a bunch of cheese eating wine swilling surrender monkeys.

Sam

It was JKF's baby that LBJ carried to term.

tonalc1

Actually, it was Eisenhower who got us in. I would say LBJ was responsible for the huge expansion of the war.

Here's a great historical article by a former Vietnam vet:
http://www.vietvet.org/jeffviet.htm

Mr Glenn

Your question presupposes Presidents make choices of their own free will...they don't; the anonymous money men of America control everything, including the President.

blondie

If the North Vietnamese, backed by China had not invaded South Vietnam when the French left to spread their form of communism, there would not have been a war. The USA at the time became involved to stop the spread of communism, as did Australia. No one President carried the blame, although President Johnson escalated America's involvement.

Yak Rider

Kennedy and Johnson.

PS. No matter what anybody says, there's not a shred of evidence Kennedy was going to pull out of Vietnam just before he was killed. None.

k3bul6ss

Kennedy and johnson

SavageLettuce

WTF is a blaim?

The communists were to blame of course.If this source of evil wasnt trying to spread its evil tentacles,then the freedom loving people of the united states wouldnt have had to bravely defend the rights of others.
You know.....freedom isnt free

torskie

Johnson, likely. Although he inherited it, he did escalate it but not enough to win it.

MSJP

I would have to say JFK

Social Science Lady

Blame is hardly the right word. Remember the war was originally Frances` and they just packed up and left. North Vietnam were communists, and they invaded the South, who were not. The thinking at the time was that if the whole of Vietnam were to become a communist state, it would affect Americas` position in Asia. So America sent "advisers" to the South to help them `organise` their defence, one thing led to another and America found herself in a bloody,expensive no-win war. Not wanting to loose face her leaders sent more and more men and arms, then she found her self in so deep, that it was hard to get out LBJ could have stopped it, but he didn`t want to appear weak against the JFK legacy. LBJ was certainly to blame for the continuation of the war, and for the death of thousands of young men, who died in a country most of them had never heard of before the war.
Many more thousands were maimed and many more turned into drug addicts because of it. Those who did return were greeted by a less than grateful nation, they were not given the honour and respect they deserved. The Vietnam veterans were brave fighters
good soldiers and good men. They deserve the respect of America.

josh h

J.F.K because he started. I htink Nixon had the best aproach to the war he just got a bad rep because he tried to cheet the election its to bad because if he would have had a few more years in office this would be a better country right now

Andyp P

Ho Chi Min another little hitler

Mr. PhD

The French were to blame for the Vietnam war. (remember, Vietnam was once French Indo-China). They screwed the pooh until both sides went to war and then they walked away. The US had to take over for fear of the domino effect of communism (which proved to be a false argument, but they didn't know that at the time)

For expanding the war: Both Nixon and Johnson. I think RFK would have ended it in '68 had he not been assassinated by the CIA. (oh - Surhan Surhan - silly me!)

ciza29

It was started during Kennedy's watch and LBJ continued it while he was in office. Poor Nixon took over later and got us out.

Kennedy was surrounded by a group that often suffered from group think as witnessed by the bay of pigs. Kennedy and US thinking were way too afraid of Communism. They actually thought it might work.

LBJ made the mistake of trying to fund the war without raising taxes. This led to the birth of the budget deficits we still see today.

The reason we did not win the war was because Americans have become too soft. We as a country were not willing to level the type of damage that was necessary to win the war. Instead, like today, we fought a drawn out sissy war which resulted in more loss of Vietnamese and American lives than necessary.

Never start a war if you don't have the stomach to finish the war. Truman did what it took to end WWII, but now we have a country of cowards.

However, it was the French who created the situation. There is a very good movie called The Quiet American that refers to how the French screwed things up and how the Americans tried to salvage the situation.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: