HST 510 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Anti-Communism, Neck Deep, Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
28 Feb 2015
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Document Summary
Logic of cold war mentality + arrogance of american power after ww2 lead to american war in. Roots of american involvement = misunderstanding of nature of conflict, cold war rivalries, the containment of red asia". Americans believe that preventing communist takeover of vietnam is vital to american interest. Initially attempt to keep the cost of the war low, and eventually hide the cost of the war to the. American goals in post-war period are to contain china, and maintain credibility with allies and adversaries. Maintaining credit = symbolic nature, less to do with actual interests and more to do with conceptual power. Domestic politics are also key in understanding american involvement. Kennedy and johnson both believe that the loss of vietnam to communism would doom the. Democrats politically, and might make them appear soft" on communism if they don"t go.
