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I thought this would be pretty topical, just because of all the comparisons made between the Vietnam War and the current war in Iraq:
1) Both are widely protested wars.
2) Both haven’t been decisively won.
3) Both involve a lot of guerilla warfare.
But decide for yourself by learning about the Vietnam War for yourself.
Check it out by listening to the CultureCast above (by pressing the little blue play botton), or by clicking through and checking out the transcript and further sources.
Vietnam War: Quite a quagmire (CultureCast #033)
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Transcript
Hey party people, this is Joshua Hwang delivering another 90 Seconds to Culture podcast.
Vietnam War: Quite a quagmire
The Vietnam War started in 1954 when Communist Vietnamese (from North Vietnam) attempted to take over noncommunist South Vietnam, both through an invasion from the north by the North Vietnamese Army, and guerrilla warfare within the South by the Viet Cong.
As this was during the Cold War, the United States wished to stop the spread of Communism. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy sent military advisors to South Vietnam. After Kennedy’s assassination, his successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) massively increased the number of American soldiers in Vietnam until it reached roughly half a million.
During this time, Americans were divided over the war: some protested it by refusing to serve in the Armed Forces and through mass demonstrations, others supported it whole-heartedly, and others still let the government decide what was wisest (called the “silent majority” by Richard Nixon).
Victory in Vietnam was not coming easily however. With the Tet offensive by the communist Vietnamese, the American media became critical of American reports of a near ending war. And reports of atrocities committed by both sides in the war disturbed many Americans. Eventually, President Richard Nixon decreased American troop strength and sent his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, to negotiate a cease-fire with North Vietnam. American troops were withdrawn in 1973, and South Vietnam was completely taken over by communist forces in 1975.
Sources / Further Reading:
Wikipedia: Vietnam War
Bartleby: Vietnam War
[tags]history, vietnam war, viet cong, cold war, vietnam, tet offensive, culture, podcast[/tags]
(image from Martin Burns via flickr)
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