Reply #55: what doesn't? [View All]

[buckanear7]

Dulles was the key to getting the US invovled into Vietnam. The fear of a united Vietnam as a communist country was in direct conflict the natioanl security of the US and the stability of the region. Ho Chi Minh was already receiveing support from Communist China during the conflict with France. Was there plans then fore North Vieatnam to invade South Vietnam? Good question. Problem is that anyone who was in the kow is now dead and cannot answer that question. The best we can do is speculate and I am not about to go down that road.

North Vietnam was bent on unification of the South if not by elections as mandated in the Geneva Treaty of 1954, than by force. Ho Chi Minh saw the US support of the southern state and blocking of elections as US colonialism. After fighting a war to rid the French, Ho Chi Minh was ready to take on the US if nneded. To him it was a war of liberation.

Like I said, the players in the early stages are now all dead and we canonly specualted as to their motives. All we have now to judge them on is their actions. The actions were evident that if the North invaded the South, then the US was committed to military aid and intervention.

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