The Cold War, Colonialism and Communism in Southeast Asia

Central to any understanding of how the United States became involved in a war in Vietnam is an understanding of the Cold War and Communism as they pertained to Southeast Asia and the elements of European colonialism. The United States emerged from WWII with a healthy respect for and a distrust of the Soviet Union and its Communist philosophies. As Communism grew around the world, the United States attempted to check its growth by one means or another. The Korean War in the early 1950s was one result of such U.S. policy. In Vietnam Communism was making itself felt in the person of Ho Chi Minh, essentially a nationalist in a Communist disguise.

Further complicating the issue was the attempt by the Vietnamese to throw off the French colonial presence. Vietnam was, in the years before and immediately after World War II, a part of French Indochina. As early as 1941, resistance to the French in Vietnam was made by a group known as the Viet Minh. Communist ideology was played down; nationalism and independence were played up. But, after WWII ended, the French returned to Southeast Asia to reclaim their colonies. The result was the first Indochina War, fought between the French and the Viet Minh, culminating in a defeat for the French at the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

The United States, emerging as one of the World's superpowers from WWII, could not sit on the sidelines as these issues were being played out. Instead, the U.S. became involved in Vietnam in a number of ways, most importantly in supporting the French as they struggled to re-establish colonial control in Southeast Asia. And, as the French went down to defeat in 1954, the United States would become directly involved in the 1954 Geneva Convention which would change further the shape of Vietnamese history.

Readings:

1. Kolko, pp. 1-71.
2. Langguth, pp. 27-80.

Military Operations:

Dien Bien Phu

Questions for consideration and further discussion:

1. Why was Communism considered a problem by the United States?
2. Is colonialism problematic in and of itself?
3. Were there problems with the U.S. stance on "freedom" generally and the support of French colonial interests?
4. What was the "domino" theory?
5. What made the battle at Dien Bien Phu important?