However, the forces of the South, without American combat support, could not hold off the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong.
By the end ofAmerican troop totals peaked in Vietnam atJune Learn how and when to remove this template message President Johnson had already appointed General William C.
He believed that the U. Unfortunately, John F. Under Westmoreland, the expansion of American troop strength in South Vietnam took place. As a result of the conference held in Honolulu, President Johnson authorized an increase in troop strength toby August Westmoreland believed that he had found a strategy that would either defeat North Vietnam or force it into serious negotiations.
The basic principle was that if French Indochina Vietnam was still a French colony fell to the communist insurgency which had been battling the French, the expansion of communism throughout Asia would be likely to continue unchecked.
Additionally, Nixon was more pragmatic than idealistic in his foreign policy worldview. The second incident was said to have occurred two days later on August 4th. Following the French withdrawal from Indochina, the solution put in place established a communist government in North Vietnam and a democratic government in South Vietnam.
This is a question historians continue to debate.
Understanding the role of communism requires placing Vietnam in a regional context and examining Southeast Asian concerns about communism. Few decisions in American foreign policy have been more consequential than the series of events that led the United States to become involved in the Vietnam War.