American Failure in Vietnam: Analysis

Nixon’s policy of Vietnamization was tested in the Easter Offensive, an invasion of South Vietnam, when it was made clear that South Vietnam would need US help to survive. Nixon even reverted to the first bombing of Vietnam since 1969, showing the recession into aggressive military tactics. The bombings, popularly known as the Christmas Bombings were meant to intimidate North Vietnam into agreement with American terms for a cease-fire, and the campaign was successful. The Paris Peace Accords were signed on January 27, 1973 ended direct US involvement in the war. In its terms, American POWs were released, fighting was temporarily ended between North and South Vietnam, the US had sixty days to leave, and the reunification of Vietnam was encouraged.

However, the Paris Peace Accords were not upheld by the Vietnamese. By then, Nixon had resigned after Watergate and Ford had taken office. The North Vietnamese invaded the South in 1975, but Ford was unable to act because of the majority of Democrats in Congress. Without US aid, South Vietnam began to crumble rapidly as it flew deeper into a pit of despair. The North Vietnamese continued with their offense, capturing cities and towns along the way. Finally they arrived at the capital city of Saigon, and the South Vietnamese were powerless to defend it. The fall of Saigon marked the end of the Vietnam War.

Nixon, promising peace, did succeed in that effort, but his foreign policy was a failure. The corruption during his presidency contributed to the loss of public support, thus sealing in defeat. His unwise decisions to bomb the neighboring countries of Cambodia and Laos were only in successful in alienating the public. His policy of Vietnamization was a failure; the South Vietnamese were not adequately prepared to hold up on their own, which is indicated by the quick fall of Saigon.

The aftermath of the war was enormous. Many soldiers returned home, their lives having been scarred forever and forced to deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Many families had to endure the loss of a loved one – at least 58,000 American troops had died. The nation was now in a deep federal deficit, spurred by military spending in the Vietnam War and Johnson’s Great Society programs. The US economy had to suffer as soaring inflation and a stagnant economy led to a new economic problem – “stagflation.” There was a growing resentment and mistrust of the federal government, caused by all the secrecy and lies the government had been involved during the war.

Whether or not the US made the right decision with increased involvement is highly debated. Their involvement should have never been expanded, because anything further than that became an American war, because they would have been too involved. The Marines should have never been sent in, and Johnson should have followed Kennedy’s plan. South Vietnam ultimately did fall to North Vietnam, meaning the war would have had the same outcome whether the US left in 1975 or in 1963. Even after Operation Rolling Thunder, the US should have calculated how difficult a land war would have been. US involvement was not justified, because the nation even ended up committing horrible crimes against the South Vietnamese.

American failure in Vietnam was caused by numerous factors, most namely difficulties of fighting an offensive war, poor leadership, and unexpected North Vietnamese morale resulting in countless deaths that could have been avoided. The war would drag on for what felt like centuries, claiming around 58,000 American lives and countless Vietnamese. It would leave a beautiful nation in tatters, just to fight communism.