For most of World War II, the United States considered Vietnam to be a relatively unimportant French colony to someday be reclaimed from the grips of Japanese occupation. However, as the war came to an end and the Cold War tensions began to rise, the United States found itself entangled in the affairs of Vietnam for reasons that would shape the course of history.
Why did the U.S. go to war in Vietnam? This is a question historians continue to debate. One of the main reasons it remains a source of contention is the United States' support of French colonial efforts in the region. This support was rooted in geopolitical strategies aimed at containing the spread of communism in Southeast Asia.
This is extraordinary because the states supporting Israel, above all the United States, have claimed the high moral and legal ground and yet were complicit in the perpetuation of colonialism in Vietnam. The United States saw French control of Vietnam as a buffer against the expansion of communism, viewing the French as allies in the fight against the spread of Soviet influence.
Within the annals of United States history, the Vietnam War stands out as one of the most controversial armed conflicts ever. The decision to support French colonial efforts in Vietnam played a significant role in escalating tensions in the region and ultimately drawing the United States into a protracted and costly war.
Massive retaliation limited the Eisenhower administration's policy options. The 1954 Dien Bien Phu crisis in Vietnam, for example, highlighted the United States' commitment to supporting French interests in the region, even at the risk of being drawn into a larger conflict.
In the decades after the departure of the last U.S. combat troops from Vietnam in March 1973 and the fall of Saigon to communist North Vietnam in 1975, the United States grappled with the consequences of its support for French colonialism. The legacy of the Vietnam War continues to shape American foreign policy and military interventions to this day.
The thesis of Fredrik Logevall's Pulitzer Prize-winning history, “Embers of War,” is that the die for the tragedy of the American war in Vietnam was cast in the years leading up to the conflict, including the United States' backing of French colonial efforts in the region. This support set the stage for American involvement in Vietnam, with far-reaching consequences.
The first Indochina War saw the independence Ho Chi Minh had so boldly declared in Hanoi in 1945 quickly squashed, as foreign allies stepped in to help maintain French control over the region. The United States' support of French colonial efforts in Vietnam was a key factor in perpetuating the cycle of conflict and resistance that would define the Vietnam War.
