Why did the U.S. Fail to Achieve Its Objectives in the Vietnam War?

Although there was no formal declaration of war, the Vietnam conflict resulted into a full war that remains the longest deployment of American forces in combat in the country’s history. Initially, President John F. Kennedy decided to send more than 2,000 military advisers and not officers in combat to South Vietnam, but it marked the beginning of a 12-year military action (Hollitz 223).  At the peak of the conflict, the U.S.A. had more than 543,000 troops fighting in the country (Hollitz 223). Also, the total number of Americans who served during the conflict was about 2.7 million (Hollitz 223). Moreover, approximately 58,000 soldiers died in the war or remain missing, and more than 300,000 people were wounded (Hollitz 223). Consequently, the conflict was an actual war that Americans were involved in.

But was the U.S.A. able to achieve its objectives? Noteworthy, the country’s main objective was to stop the spread of communism after the communists took control of North Vietnam (Roark et al. 183). But the American government stated that its involvement in the conflict was to protect democracy, freedom, independence, and the people of South Vietnam with President Kennedy stating, “Our objective is to protect the independence and freedom of South Vietnam from any attack. We will do anything possible to achieve this objective, and we will do only what is necessary” (Roark et al. 183).

However, it is evident that America was pursuing its global aim of fighting and suppressing communism, mainly targeting the nations that were heavily influenced, backed, and funded by the USSR. Just before the exit of the U.S., South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam; millions of lives were lost, including the people that the U.S. was feigning to protect. The communists continued to spread, eventually forming the one state that is today known as Vietnam. Consequently, it is evident that America failed to achieve its objectives in the war. Why did the country fail to reach its main aim? Arguably, the U.S.A. has lost because it was fighting a foreign war in an area whose culture, social and political system, geography, tactics, and people’s perceptions were not known by the U.S.

First, America’s desire to stop the spread of communism in South Vietnam involved military and financial support of the government. To achieve this, the Americans sought to influence the government and were involved in almost every coup that happened in the country, beginning with the “assassination of president Ngô Đình Diệm, the founder of South Vietnam, in 1963” (Hollitz 221). But the country remained politically unstable with various coups and assassinations taking place. In fact, the continued involvement of the U.S. in government and military affairs of South Vietnam served to popularize communism because the people were convinced that America was a colonial power in the state (Hollitz 221). The communist North Vietnamese leaders spread propaganda that described their South counterparts as servants of colonialists. In such a way, the communists gained popularity in both North and South. Their popularity increased as more people were made to believe that the communists under Ho Chi Minh were true Vietnamese patriots and freedom fighters (Hollitz 221). For instance, they had led efforts to end the French rule before the Second World War. In addition, they had fought against the Japanese occupation during the Second World War for the independence of Vietnam. After the struggle, the communists fought against the French colonialists again and consequently led the country to independence.

That is why the people believed in the communists and considered them the actual founders of the state of Vietnam and the champions of independence. They developed trust in the communists, believing that the latters had the will and power to protect their rights and the independence of the nation. Therefore, it is evident that America could not convince the Vietnamese population that it was out to “protect their rights, democracy, and independence” (Hollitz 223). In fact, many Vietnamese hated the presence of the U.S. believing that the Americans, like the French before them, were coming to colonize the country. Also, the North Vietnam communist leaders argued that Americans were not coming to protect the people but to exercise their power just as the French had done, which included striping the people their economic powers and interfering with their traditions and social system (Hollitz 224). Evidently, such a situation could not support Americans in their objectives in Vietnam. In fact, many South Vietnamese defected and started supporting the communists in the North. Moreover, many of them were enrolled in the North Vietnam military, the Viet Cong, thus, weakening the South and strengthening the communists (Hollitz 224).

Due to these factors, the U.S. lost the hearts and minds of the people. Since the most population in rural villages, there were many groups that supported the communists against the Americans and South Vietnamese troops. Consequently, America forces and their allies would resolve to torture and sometimes kill the villagers who were seen as supporters of the communists, thus, violating their vow to protect the people.

Second, when the United States entered Vietnam by providing about 2,000 military advisers, there was no clear goal. Also, the objectives did not become clearer as the conflict went on. Essentially, it was not possible to say what the victory against the communists would look like by 1970. American military and diplomatic strategists had failed to give much thought on how to win the conflict. Most scholars argued that America’s aim was not to defeat the North, but to convince its leaders that they could not win against the South. Consequently, the lack of clear goals meant that Americans could not start with clear strategies for complete involvement in combat, which explains why the U.S. had to lose in achieving their objectives. Also, there were no efforts to understand the feelings and perceptions of Vietnam citizens towards the conflict in the South and the presence of foreign fighters (Hollitz 232). Consequently, Americans were not aware that a majority of citizens were not supporting their presence in the country. The U.S.A. troops had to fight the citizens who were supporting the Viet Cong and the communists, thus, failing to achieve the aim of protecting the people and their independence (Hollitz 232).

Third, it is evident that the unpopularity of the war at home was a major factor that made the U.S. fail in achieving its objectives in Vietnam. In particular, there were wide protests against the presence of the American troops in Vietnam. Most Americans rejected the idea of “moving a large number of forces to the foreign land” (Hollitz 233). People did not see the need for sending many young Americans to the unjustified war and receiving large number of war casualties and dead bodies. In general, the American support for the war was very low. By 1970, most U.S.A. politicians reasoned with the general population and started calling for the withdrawal of the troops before the struggle was over (Roark et al. 187). They realized that the country had little to lose by withdrawing. The government had nothing but to withdraw, leaving a major vacuum that enabled the communists to defeat the South and build a single communist nation. Eventually, America lost its objectives of protecting the South from communist occupation because the people disapproved the idea.

Third, most American soldiers in combat were ordinary officers fighting in a foreign land whose geography was not well known to them. They were sent to apply their learned techniques to fight the Viet Cong and protect civilians. On the contrary, the Viet Cong and their allies were not ordinary soldiers. Rather, they were guerrillas, whose tactics went beyond the normal military skills and sometimes involved sudden attacks and terrorist-style advances. Further, unlike the American soldiers, the Viet Cong troops had underground support from the people, and they recruited many to carry out unexpected attacks against the American troops (Roarket et al. 189). They were also good in combat because they had intensive knowledge of the terrain, unlike the Americans who were fighting in a foreign land. Consequently, the U.S. realized that it was losing a large number of its soldiers, and others were obtaining injuries, yet they were not realizing their aim of protecting an independent South. Consequently, the U.S. lost its objectives because the war was uncalled for right from the beginning and had to send soldiers to fight, “yet they knew little about the geography of Vietnam” (Hollitz 232).

Fourth, apart from the locals, the communists obtained support from a number of other allies, particularly the USSR and North Korea. Unlike the U.S., the USSR had clear intentions and strategies to enter the war – they wanted to spread communist ideologies and fight for it. In fact, the USSR’s presence in Vietnam had been quite durable. The union provided the necessary support to the Viet Cong and was considered a friend of Vietnam. Unlike the USSR, the Americans were spending many resources on its soldiers rather than creating strong South Vietnamese army, which resulted in a massive loss of human lives on the part of the U.S. Moreover, the USSR was not considered a colonial or western power but a partner in “fighting against colonialism” (Hollitz 236). Besides, the USSR was able to achieve much support from the locals compared to the U.S. since its presence was supported even by all citizens. Combined, these factors forced the U.S. to consider withdrawal even before it could achieve its objectives of protecting the independence, freedom, and sovereignty of South Vietnam.

In conclusion, the U.S. had to lose its aims of protecting South Vietnam and retaining it as its strategic partner in a region that was under increased influence of communism. It can be said that the U.S. did not lose the battler but lost its direction and meaning of the war, which eventually forced it to withdraw and leave the South vulnerable to occupation. In other words, the U.S. lost in terms of achieving its objectives because the war had no meaning to most Americans, most Vietnamese hated the presence of the American soldiers, the USSR had better strategies and objectives as well as support both at home and in the war-torn Vietnam.

 

 

Works Cited

Hollitz, John. Thinking Through the Past, Volume 2. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.

Roark, James, Michael P. Johnson, Patricia Cline Cohen, Sarah Stage and Susan M. Hartmann. The American Promise, Volume 2: From 1875. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014. Print.