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Question: Why were we at war at Vietnam if we knew the Domino Theory was complete B!.S!. !?
Why were we at war at Vietnam if we knew the Domino Theory was complete B!.S!. !?
If we thought that all the surrounding countries were to fall to communism and thought the Domino Thoery was to kick into effect but knew that the practice of communism was a flawed system, how come we still went to war fighting for it even though it was common sense the the communists would eventually fall under their own weight and never see the light of day anymore much less here in the United States!. Or did I miss something!?Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
There were many academics and administration officials who believed the Domino Theory was flawed!. It was not the "Gospel," but a theory based upon faulty and colonial/imperialistic thinking!.

The Vietnam War was a business opportunity!. Capitalism thrives on conflict, because war material and ancillary items needed to be manufactured and produced!. Big Business lobbied for the US entrance into the Vietnam war!. It was a golden opportunity to exploit the resources of Southeast Asia and line their pockets with profits!.

If anything, the war against so-called Communism ( which is also a flawed ideology since the Vietnamese wanted to rid themselves of foreign oppression) was a business venture!. Dow Chemical produced Napalm and Agent Orange!. GM produced tanks and artillery!. Etc, Etc!.


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While the notion that there is a unified bloc of communists who seek world domination has fallen into disfavor, there are still people who believe that the Domino Theory was correct!. these people would argue that the conflict in Vietnam bought time for democratic regimes to "get their act together" and prevent a communist takeover!. Alternatively, Vietnam and its eventual outcome provided talking points and moral support for people in other countries going through similar struggles!.

Echoes of the Domino Theory can be found in the Bush administration's prosecution of the so-called war on terror, and the idea that "we fight them over there so we don't have to fight them hereWww@QuestionHome@Com

Yes, you missed a lot!.

The majority of Americans at that time strongly believed in the domino theory!. We knew communism was flawed, but it was, nevertheless, succeeding in spreading through the world--Eastern Europe was virtually all communist, as well as China and the Soviet Union!.

From the end of World War until probably the fall of the Soviet Union some years ago, many Americans were extremely fearful of the spread of communism!. Only in hindsight can we be assured that it would "fall under their own weight!."Www@QuestionHome@Com

" it was common sense the the communists would eventually fall under their own weight "

it wasnt common sense back then, we'd gone from 0 percent communism to 50 percent communism from just 1917 to 1949, just 32 years, (47 years up to 1964)

but also, there were conflicting goals, of carrying water for the french (WHY) to get their colony back, and profiteering for the military industrial complex!. General/President Eisenhower warned of it pretty bluntly in 1961!. We'd actually been on the same side as ho chi min against the japanese in the 1940s

but having our finger in every pie for neqarly 100 years may have bankrupted us

that may be what we're seeing, right now

bankrupt, and in debt to the communist chinese

yup, we sure showed them

" it was common sense the the communists would eventually fall under their own weight "

who's falling under what weight!?

last i checked, it's the commies who have the money todayWww@QuestionHome@Com

As everyone pointed out, the domino theory was not considered BS at the time!. That is why we remember it so well!.
But there was another reason!. Kennedy was very fond of the french!. The French were kicked out of Viet Nam!. But the missing part of the story is why the French were there to start with!.
The French rubber plantations were in Viet Nam and those supplied the French tire company Michelen!.
The loss of that colony and that rubber would cause a major dent in the French economy!. so they talked their good friend JFK into protecting the rubber plantations!.
troops in Vietnam were not allowed to go into the rubber plantations to chase the NVA or the Viet Cong!. who would retreat there knowing they were safe!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

You missed something!. The Domino Theory wasn't BS back then!. American leaders believed it to be true!. That got us involved as advisors!. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution got us heavily involved!. Once we were in, it became more about winning than anything else!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

NOT a hippie, but economics did take a prominent place in the Vietnam war(Either way you slice it DOW and other companies did make a bit of a profit off the war)!. And the above poster is right!. At the time the Domino effect wasn't B!.S!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Because the American Democratic system is full of idiots!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Two points -- one minor, one major:

Minor!.
At the time the Domino Theory was thought of as Gospel Truth!. This was because a necessary adjunct of the containment theory was the acceptance of the so-called "Communist Monolith!." Even as late as the 1960s many believed that communist ideology superseded nationalism!. In other words, all communists work together for a common purpose!. Past nationalistic ambitions and rivalries are made irrelevant by the embrace of a common ideology!.

Of course, this view was proven to be false; but at the time it was still regarded as a political certainty which made leaders in the West view "World Communism" as a uniform cancer metastasizing through the body politic, and one which therefore had to be fought!. (Hence Vietnam)!.

Major!.
While you're assessment of the ultimate failure of Communism is correct, the important thing to remember is that the whole Containment Doctrine was based on the unanswered question of the method by which Communism would colapse!.

Everyone agreed that Communism was ultimately unworkable, but they had to contain it anyway!. As stated above, it was a cancer!. But more importantly, what we didn't know was if the end of communism would occur with an "Explosion," or an "Implosion!."

Systems are always most dangerous when they decline, because that is when they have the least to lose!. And the fear was the Soviet Union would precipitate actions which would lead to WW III!. The only way to prevent this was, in effect, to ring the communist world in a series of protective alliances (like NATO, for example), which would check Soviet intentions, and then to step on overt Communist aggression wherever it reared its head!. (Hence Korea!. Hence Vietnam)!.

If the West remained firm in its containment, the internal contradictions of Communism would ultimately undo the system!. BUT, with firm walls of alliance on the outside, the destructive force of the colapse would have no place to go but INWARD!. The system would implode on itself!. And this is exactly what happened!. The Soviet Union colapsed in on itself, because for all its flawed expectations, the basic idea behind the Containment Doctrine was sound; and history has proven this to be so!.

We made the Soviet Union and Communism in Europe go away -- and we did it without ever having to go to war with the Soviet Union!. Not bad, when you think about it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com