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Nobody declared war in either instance.
We did, however, have Congressional approval to use force in Vietnam. Not so in Korea.
Who declared war in the case of Vietnam, and who declared war in the case of Korea?
That’s your answer for the different circumstances.
Nobody declared war in either instance.
We did, however, have Congressional approval to use force in Vietnam. Not so in Korea.
Crap strategy or not, George Kennan's theory of containment dominated the post WWII era. And that answers your "why" question.The U.S. jumped in to fill the breach left by the French when they withdrew from their colonial war.
Why were we in the midst of a civil war? Why were we driving the North Vietnamese government into the arms of the Chinese, their traditional enemies? Was it worth destabilizing Laos and Cambodia?
Kennan’s Domino Theory was a crap strategy.
You are ignoring the role of the United Nations in Korea, and the conditions that resulted in the partition of the peninsula.
What’s yours?What's your point?
What’s yours?
North Vietnam won the civil war, united the country, and is now a trading partner of the U.S. — all without posing a threat to our country.
So why go into Korea and not Vietnam? South Korea preserved their independence, became a thriving economy, and is a vital US ally. Surely these were objectives worth seeking in Vietnam as well?
Please refer to the UN events of the time.
I’m out when historical facts are consciously ignored.
South Korea was a corrupt, vicious dictatorship for the first forty years of its existence.So why go into Korea and not Vietnam? South Korea preserved their independence, became a thriving economy, and is a vital US ally. Surely these were objectives worth seeking in Vietnam as well?
Except Agent Orange failed utterly to force Vietnamese civilians to support the corrupt dictatorship foreign occupiers were propping up.Precisely. Eliminate the dense underbrush and thick forest and the battlefield becomes much more favorable for blue forces.
Nobody in South Vietnam saw the U.S. backed regime as remotely legitimate, which is why no government there lasted more than a few years before utterly collapsing.I've read plenty on the Korean War. I know the nature of the conflict was very different, but the underlying principle is the same - we intervened to keep a Northern aggressor from swallowing up our Southern ally.
South Korea was a corrupt, vicious dictatorship for the first forty years of its existence.
Oh, yeah. I remember.Anyone recall the song "Ballad of the Green Beret"? it was played often on radio rock programs. Sad. and silly that radio played it.
The singer/composer, Barry Sadler, has said he’s sorry he wrote the song.Anyone recall the song "Ballad of the Green Beret"? it was played often on radio rock programs. Sad. and silly that radio played it.
Except Agent Orange failed utterly to force Vietnamese civilians to support the corrupt dictatorship foreign occupiers were propping up.
Compared to literally any other regime, yes. Rhee’s regime killed thousands of their own troops through sheer corruption.As opposed to who? Kim Il Sung's regime?
And yet nobody in South Vietnam had any true loyalty to any the regimes propped up by foreign bayonets, as the rapid collapse of South Vietnam demonstratesAs opposed to whom? Ho Chi Minh's regime? His 1950's land reform program killed upwards of 200,000 people.
Compared to literally any other regime, yes. Rhee’s regime killed thousands of their own troops through sheer corruption.
Rhee’s successors for decades onwards were every bit as corrupt and tyrannical.Rhee obviously left a lot to be desired.... but you need only to see where North & South Korea are today to see which chose the better road.
And yet nobody in South Vietnam had any true loyalty to any the regimes propped up by foreign bayonets, as the rapid collapse of South Vietnam demonstrates
Rhee’s successors for decades onwards were every bit as corrupt and tyrannical.
There was a coup attempt in South Korea only a year ago.
South Vietnam had a coup practically every three years of its existence. No stable state institutions were ever created, because it was fundamentally a foreign colonial puppet the entire time, and, like all colonial overlords, the U.S. didn’t give a shit about that.Hindsight is 20/20. There was no telling going in whether strong leadership would take over in Saigon.
That'd be like waiting for Napoleon to emerge before starting the French Revolution.
But hey— the profits kept flowing into America, so clearly the U.S. didn’t see an issue with brutal tyrants oppressing the people of South Korea.But hey... at least the people aren't eating grubs. So there's that.
South Vietnam had a coup practically every three years of its existence. No stable state institutions were ever created, because it was fundamentally a foreign colonial puppet the entire time, and, like all colonial overlords, the U.S. didn’t give a shit about that.
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