Existing comment:
American Military Support of South Vietnam:
The United States supported South Vietnam with military equipment and advisers. The latter helped the South Vietnamese army resist the Viet Cong guerrillas. However, despite some successes, the year 1963 brought a string of defeats. A political crisis resulted, triggering an army coup that overthrew the existing government. The Viet Cong also escalated their activities. The United States responded b increasing the flow of military assistance and the number of advisers in South Vietnam. In August 1964, a minor skirmish occurred between US naval vessels and North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Tonkin Gulf. This event became the justification for expanding the level of US involvement in South Vietnam. The US Senate passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, giving President Lyndon B Johnson broad powers to expand the conflict. In 1965, American military forces abandoned their advisory status and conventional combat units were sent to fight the Viet Cong. A large-scale troop build-up followed to ensure South Vietnam's continued independence. American soldiers were motivated by a belief that a communist victory in South Vietnam would lead to communist domination of all of Southeast Asia. This fear constituted the "domino theory" and propelled American involvement in the Vietnam War. |